We know the feeling of helplessness and anxiety when something unexpectedly occurs in our lives. We know also about certain moments when we can sit back and see the various pieces of our life falling into its place and we can now understand the reason for certain occurrences in our live. The effect of this later experience is deeper joy and peace.
The Christmas period is a season of joy. We are rejoicing for the gift of God to our world: the savior. Two days after Christmas, we are celebrating the feast of St. John the beloved. The gospel of today is about joy, not the Christmas joy but the Easter joy. We hear in the Gospel that when St. John entered the tomb, he saw and believed. He could now perfectly understand the life and ministry of Jesus.
Doubtfulness
The disciples knew Jesus as the Christ through the profession of St. Peter. But this knowledge was often confronted with doubtful feelings. Even at the death of Jesus, some of the disciples were not expecting the resurrection, despite Jesus repeated proclamation of his death and resurrection.
St. John on his part was more interested in being in love than in sitting at the foot of Jesus to learn and to understand. As a friend, John was loyal and supportive to Jesus even to the foot of the cross. All the while, he has not totally understood who Jesus is. Now confronted with the empty tomb, he could understand, and could write to us, saying: what we have seen from the beginning or what we have heard, looked upon and touched with our hands, the word that was made visible, we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us and with God, and so that our joy will be complete
Joy Made Complete
The joy of Christmas is made complete with the Joy of the resurrection of Christ. It is at Easter that we come to have a full taste of the reason for Christmas: the salvation brought by Christ. Moreover, those who are still struggling with the mystery of God taking on human nature, together with the virgin-birth, would have at Easter a complete perception of the greatness of the power and love of God. For the God that raised Jesus, nothing is impossible, even the mystery of the incarnation. Celebrating Christmas in anticipation of Easter is one of the ways of deepening our christmas joy.
As part of our Christmas celebrations, the feast of St. John the beloved draws us to open our hearts to love Jesus, even when we do not completely understand. The more we love him and get closer to him, the more we draw strength from him to embrace and to live out the mystery of the incarnation. As we rejoice that God is with us at Christmas, let us allow him to be our friend and to guide us along our way, so that we may walk with confidence and trust in a God who turns everything for the good of those that love him. Happy Christmas.
