Homily: December 27, 2022, Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist

“We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.”

Today’s first reading ended with these words. To St. John the Evangelist, his joy would never be complete if he didn’t write down all that he had seen, heard and learnt from Jesus. Imagine him heaving a deep sigh of relief and satisfaction when he was done writing these texts.

What is the one thing that would complete our joy? What gives us joy in the first place?

St. John the Evangelist is my patron saint. My baptism name is John. I have always wished I could be like St. John, the beloved Apostle of Jesus, to love the Lord and Mother Mary with the same devotion and affection. 

He was the only disciple who was at the foot of the cross and stayed with Jesus in His dying. He was the one appointed with the responsibility to care for Mary. Other than Peter, John was the other disciple who ran to the empty tomb after Jesus was resurrected. He was the only apostle who lived long into old age.

However, it was not a life of comfort. He witnessed the brutal torture and martyrdom of the other eleven apostles and the community of believers. He saw how the early Christians were fiercely persecuted. Himself was not spared the tribulations of being a Christ follower. 

He was taken into custody by Roman Emperor Domitian. They dunked him into boiling oil but he survived. Another tradition says that one of his legs was plunged into boiling oil and he lived in pain from his half-cooked leg for the rest of his life. 

He was later sentenced to Patmos, an island with harsh conditions of living for prisoners.

And he continued to proclaim the good news and write the gospels with joy till the day he died an old man. John had hundreds of reasons to be sad, desperate and depressed. But he was not. His joy was to be a follower of Christ, to suffer for His mission. And to top it all up, to write all these things down for future generations.

How can our sufferings ever compare with that of St. John?

How can my little suffering compare with his? I feel bad about myself for the moments when I failed to spread the joy of Jesus through my life and priesthood simply because I encountered obstacles and challenges. I am ashamed of hoarding negativity, for complaining and carrying unnecessary anxiety especially in those moments.  

We are called to be heralds of God’s word, messengers of God’s promises and witnesses of God’s love for the world. This itself is enough for us to be thankful and joyful.

John’s joy was complete with his writing of the good news, let us respond by reading, understanding and sharing this good news. May our joy be complete as John’s was, in making the life of Christ known to the world.

Amen.