Today, on the Feast of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, the Church invites us to reflect on how we perceive divine mysteries. St. John is named the beloved apostle not simply because Jesus loved him above others, but because he is the apostle that perceives God as love.
Today on his feast day, we are presented with the Gospel of the empty tomb, which demonstrates how John perceived God and divine reality. We are told that Peter and John ran to the tomb, after the hint from Mary Magdalene, and that they encountered the empty tomb. John saw and believed. (Jn 20:8)
Divine Invitation of the Crib
In this season of Christmas, many Christians enter the church to take a look at the crib. Many are fascinated because of the beauty or the simplicity of the crib. Many spend some quality time reflecting on the figures present at the crib.
The question is: How do we look at the crib? A glance into the crib reveals a child. Small. Fragile. Silent. We see poverty rather than power, vulnerability rather than control. A feeding trough instead of a throne. No explanations are given. No miracles are performed. Nothing proves that this child is God. And yet, like John at the empty tomb, we are invited to believe.
The Example of Christmas Heroes
Reading through the Christmas Gospel, we could learn from the Christmas personalities how to look at the crib. The shepherds, for instance, saw only a newborn child. And given the prior message of the Angels (LK 2: 8-20), they sensed the presence of God in the vulnerability of this tiny human being. Given what they perceived, they were prompted to action—they went and shared the good news, their hearts full of awe.
Mary treasured what she observed and reflected on it in her heart. Her seeing was contemplative: she noticed the ordinary and the extraordinary together, the human and the divine intertwined in this fragile child of hers. Her gaze was patient, loving, and formative. Thus, it shaped her understanding of God’s plan and her own vocation within it.
Joseph, often silent, watched too. His seeing was protective and faithful: he discerned danger and acted with courage and with total trust in God.
The wise men from the East having interpreted the signs in the heavens, followed a distant star. Their vision was active and purposeful, since their eyes were trained on meaning and their hearts were opened to divine mystery. Thus, their seeing inspired them to reach beyond themselves in generosity. They presented their gifts.
From these personalities, we perceive that seeing is not only about observation. It is about openness, attention, and response.
Gazing with Love
Just as he saw the empty tomb and believed in the resurrection, St. John invites us to a faith in the Christmas mystery that does not depend on explanations or proofs. St. John does not analyze the tomb. He does not ask how resurrection is possible. He sees and he trusts. Sometimes it is not what we see that sustains us, but what we sense and perceive. Faith begins not with answers, but with trust and with an openness to the understanding that God is always greater than what we can grasp.
May St. John intercede for us, so that looking at the crib, we may perceive God’s love made visible, God’s humility made tangible, and God’s presence made real among us.
