Gospel Reading: Jn 20:1a, 2-8
On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.
Reflection
THE OTHER DISCIPLE WHOM JESUS LOVED
We celebrate the feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist. A fisherman, John is among the first to be called to follow Jesus. With his brother James and Simon Peter, he witnesses the raising of Jairus’ daughter, the transfiguration of Jesus, and the agony at the garden of Gethsemane. At the Last Supper, this “beloved disciple” leans on Jesus’ breast. At the foot of the cross, Jesus entrusts his mother Mary to the disciple’s care.
John is known as the author of the gospel that bears his name, three Epistles, and the Book of Revelation (though the true authorship of the books has been debated since 200 AD).
John’s gospel gives us a perspective of Jesus different from that of the Synoptics. Through John, we have come to know Jesus as the Word who has always existed with the Father; as the Way and the Truth and the Life; as the Bread of Life come down from heaven; as the Light of the world; as the Good Shepherd; as the Resurrection and the Life, etc.
John writes his gospel that his readers may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, so that through this belief they may have life in Jesus’ name (cf Jn 20:31).
How do we personally know Jesus Christ?
If we were to write our own “gospel” about him, what would we say about Jesus?
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.