Word to the Wise
Saturday, December 27, 2008 - St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
[1 John 1:1-4 and John 20: 1A, 2-8]What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life - for the life was made visible......
When we go to a play that is based on the life of a person who is historical, we realize that the playwright or, in the case of an opera, will not present us with all the details of that character's life but rather will present us with well-known events that are pieced together to give us an interpretive portrait of the life. We come to the drama knowing much of the history already. What we witness is a way of drawing us into the life of the character. Much of the Gospel of John is like this. Almost every scene appears to have been designed as a separate play with some additional soliloquies added! Thus, the life of Jesus is presented to us in a very different way than the other three gospels. This "tour de force" along with some letters (one of which contains the first scripture for this feast and is quoted above) and the Book of Revelation form what is known as the "Johannine literature" in the bible. Tradition has attributed them to the apostle, John, and later scholarship has more or less ascribed them to "the community of the Belovd Disciple." The term, "the Beloved Disciple," is the title given to John the Apostle. Although Jesus gave the leadership of his future church to St. Peter, he entrusted his mother, Mary, to the care of the Beloved Disciple. It is clear that John was one of the original disciples and the other gospels point out that John and his brother, James, (the sons of Zebedee) were not beyond being politically ambitious. Thus, the portrait of John that survives is one of a faithful but human disciple for whom Jesus appears to have had a special affection and trust. The extent of his role in the formation of the gospel book that bears his name is one that will be debated as long as there are scholars to debate it. Nevertheless, his "literature" offers a unique perspective on the life of Jesus and the Good News. In this Christmas season, I urge my beloved congregation to read the "Prologue" to the Gospel of John (1:1-18) and perhaps any of the "scenes" from the next few chapters. There will be no "manger scene" but there WILL be a "Good Shepherd!" AMEN
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