Today the church celebrates the life and ministry of John,
brother of James, son of Zebedee. His
name has historically been associated with the Fourth Gospel, the three New
Testament epistles that bear his name, and the Book of Revelation.
The Gospel of John never mentions the name of its
author. The term “the disciple whom
Jesus loved” that we find there is traditionally understood as John, but he is
never explicitly identified.
Tradition holds that “John, Apostle and Evangelist” was one
of the leaders of the church at Jerusalem after the ascension of Jesus. He remained in a position of prominence until
the fall of Jerusalem in AD 72. From
there John went to minister in a variety of locations (traditionally) and
settled in Ephesus, from where, again church custom holds, he did much of his
writing.
Christian tradition holds that John was the only one of the twelve
apostles who lived to an old age and died of natural causes. The others, according to church lore, were martyred.
Yesterday we meditated on St. Stephen, the martyr, who
because of his faith died at an early age.
Today we ponder the long and faithful life of a servant of Christ who
lived to be full of days. We can never
be fully certain where the life of faith will take us. The calendar reminds us today that it could
be, it could be, that it is possible for the disciple to enjoy a lengthy and
abundant life. It would be a disservice
to the Apostle to claim that he was healthy and content every day of his
life. After all, the writer of the Book
of Revelation did his composing while he was in exile on the island of
Patmos. But, overall, this life reminds
us of the fullness of spirit (if not of years) to which Christ calls us.
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