Readings

Proverbs 8.22-31 | Psalm 97 | 1 John 1.1-5 | John 20.2-85

Reflection

Listen again to John's words: "We declare to you," he writes, "what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ."

John's declaration is teeming with passion and holds within it a burning desire to share this faith that has been both revealed and experienced. The faith that is declared is not something abstract but one that engages all the senses—it is heard and seen and touched. And if, as tradition has held, St John wrote this letter as an old man, he did indeed speak from experience—the experience of having known Jesus both in bodily and resurrected form. Yet his passion to share the Good News of Jesus Christ has not faded one iota in the intervening years. If anything it has grown bolder and stronger with age.
— Timothy E. Schenck, 30 January 2011, Church of St John the Evangelist, Hingham, Mass.

Prayer

Loving Father, help us to remember the story of Christ's birth,
so that we may share in the song of the angels,
the gladness of the shepherds
and the wisdom of the wise men.
Close the doors of hate and open the door of love in our lives.
Let kindness accompany every gift we give
and good wishes enrich every greeting we exchange.
Deliver us from selfishness by the blessing which Christ alone can bring,
and teach us to be glad with a pure heart,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Robert Louis Stevenson.

Colijn de Coter. Saint John the Evangelist Weeping (1500-04). Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest