Baptism of the Lord
Yes dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
You may be wondering now Why did Jesus wait so long to begin His preaching. Why didn’t he begin his preaching in his twenties, rather than wait until he was thirty?
Let me tell you a story: Sharon had been married to Rob for seven years. They had two beautiful children. But Sharon’s mother began to sense that her daughter was starting to go through a hard time in her marriage.
One day she called Sharon and said, “If I pay for a baby sitter, will you go shopping with me tomorrow?’ Sharon jumped at the invitation.
While eating lunch together the next day, after shopping, Sharon’s Mother leaned over and said to her:
“I had a reason for asking you out today. I have something important to tell you. It’s something my mother told me and asked me to tell my daughter when the right time came. My mother called it; “three guidelines to a happy marriage.”
The first guideline is this: Never keep score in marriage. Don’t ever say to your spouse, “I have been doing more than my share. It’s not fair.” The day you begin to keep score is the day your marriage begins to die.
The second guideline is this: Never be too busy for your children. Don’t ever say to them, “Can’t you see I’m busy? Come back later.” The day you become too busy for your children is the day your communication with them begins to die.
The third guideline is this: Never miss a day praying for your family. Don’t ever let 24 hours go by without talking to God about your family. The day you stop conversing with God about your family is the day you deprive them of the greatest gift a mother can give.
Isn’t it a nice story my dear brothers and sisters, as the Mother finished, Sharon took her mother’s hand. Her eyes filled up with tears as she said: “Mom, that’s the most beautiful advice you could give me. But why did you wait seven years to tell me? Why didn’t you tell me the day Rob and I got Married? It would have helped me so much-so very much!’
Sharon’s mother said: “Honey, I wanted to tell you the day you got married. I wanted to tell you with all my heart. But I knew it wasn’t the right time. I knew you weren’t ready then. I had to wait for the right time- when you would understand what I was talking about.”
This is my answer to that question we asked in the beginning. Jesus was waiting for John the Baptist to call the people to repentance. People were not ready for what Jesus had to say. Until they were conscious of their sins and conscious of their need for God, they would not understand Jesus’ message.
Yes, dear brothers and sisters, this is true for us too; Jesus can’t begin to act in our lives and transform them until-like the people of Israel- we are ready to let Him do it. We need to recognize and admit that we cannot do it alone in life and we need Jesus in our Life. Only when we have reached this point of realization can Jesus begin to act in our lives to transform us into what God made us to be.
We don’t think enough about our baptism, this most important event in our lives. If we reflected more on who we are since baptism how different we would be, how differently we would live. Every sacrament has a lasting effect, our baptism was not just a magic formula recited over us by the priest to wash off original sin and give us a chance of getting to heaven. Baptism is like Ordination and marriage, it is something to be lived every day. When we were baptized, it is as if the Father said over us as he said over Jesus, “This is my beloved son, this is my beloved daughter.”
The Sacrament of Baptism emphasizes this new relationship with our Father. After baptism at the font four signs in the sacrament, symbolize for us this new relationship with God. If you listen to the prayers accompanying these four symbols, they tell us about our new relationship with God.
Firstly, the child is anointed with the oil of chrism. This is the holy oil used by the bishop to anoint us on the forehead during Confirmation and to anoint the hands of a priest during his Ordination. Part of the prayer for the anointing during baptism is, “As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.”
Secondly, the white garment is put on the child. Part of the prayer accompanying putting on the white garment is, “…you have clothed yourself in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity”.
Thirdly, a lighted candle is given to the parents, a symbol of receiving the light of Christ. Part of the prayer accompanying this is, “This child of yours has been enlightened by Christ.”
Fourthly, the ears and mouth of the child are blessed because they will hear the Word of God and the child will profess his/her faith.
Being baptized as children would make no sense and have no meaning if as we grew up we didn’t put our baptism into effect, if we didn’t live like people who have been baptized into the Catholic Church.
Baptism has two fundamental meanings. The first meaning is pretty much known by the majority of those who seek baptism. We have always been taught that through baptism we become part of the church and the nature of our church is that it is open to everybody.
The second meaning of baptism is that when we are baptized Jesus through the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and with us. From that moment we are also destined for eternity. Every morning when you open your eyes give yourself time to hear Jesus saying to you the very words that Jesus himself heard when He was baptized. “Mary, John, Andrew, Judy Sunny you are my beloved son, You are my beloved daughter. My favour, my care, my attention, my presence, everything that I have rests with you today.
Yes dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
You may be wondering now Why did Jesus wait so long to begin His preaching. Why didn’t he begin his preaching in his twenties, rather than wait until he was thirty?
Let me tell you a story: Sharon had been married to Rob for seven years. They had two beautiful children. But Sharon’s mother began to sense that her daughter was starting to go through a hard time in her marriage.
One day she called Sharon and said, “If I pay for a baby sitter, will you go shopping with me tomorrow?’ Sharon jumped at the invitation.
While eating lunch together the next day, after shopping, Sharon’s Mother leaned over and said to her:
“I had a reason for asking you out today. I have something important to tell you. It’s something my mother told me and asked me to tell my daughter when the right time came. My mother called it; “three guidelines to a happy marriage.”
The first guideline is this: Never keep score in marriage. Don’t ever say to your spouse, “I have been doing more than my share. It’s not fair.” The day you begin to keep score is the day your marriage begins to die.
The second guideline is this: Never be too busy for your children. Don’t ever say to them, “Can’t you see I’m busy? Come back later.” The day you become too busy for your children is the day your communication with them begins to die.
The third guideline is this: Never miss a day praying for your family. Don’t ever let 24 hours go by without talking to God about your family. The day you stop conversing with God about your family is the day you deprive them of the greatest gift a mother can give.
Isn’t it a nice story my dear brothers and sisters, as the Mother finished, Sharon took her mother’s hand. Her eyes filled up with tears as she said: “Mom, that’s the most beautiful advice you could give me. But why did you wait seven years to tell me? Why didn’t you tell me the day Rob and I got Married? It would have helped me so much-so very much!’
Sharon’s mother said: “Honey, I wanted to tell you the day you got married. I wanted to tell you with all my heart. But I knew it wasn’t the right time. I knew you weren’t ready then. I had to wait for the right time- when you would understand what I was talking about.”
This is my answer to that question we asked in the beginning. Jesus was waiting for John the Baptist to call the people to repentance. People were not ready for what Jesus had to say. Until they were conscious of their sins and conscious of their need for God, they would not understand Jesus’ message.
Yes, dear brothers and sisters, this is true for us too; Jesus can’t begin to act in our lives and transform them until-like the people of Israel- we are ready to let Him do it. We need to recognize and admit that we cannot do it alone in life and we need Jesus in our Life. Only when we have reached this point of realization can Jesus begin to act in our lives to transform us into what God made us to be.
We don’t think enough about our baptism, this most important event in our lives. If we reflected more on who we are since baptism how different we would be, how differently we would live. Every sacrament has a lasting effect, our baptism was not just a magic formula recited over us by the priest to wash off original sin and give us a chance of getting to heaven. Baptism is like Ordination and marriage, it is something to be lived every day. When we were baptized, it is as if the Father said over us as he said over Jesus, “This is my beloved son, this is my beloved daughter.”
The Sacrament of Baptism emphasizes this new relationship with our Father. After baptism at the font four signs in the sacrament, symbolize for us this new relationship with God. If you listen to the prayers accompanying these four symbols, they tell us about our new relationship with God.
Firstly, the child is anointed with the oil of chrism. This is the holy oil used by the bishop to anoint us on the forehead during Confirmation and to anoint the hands of a priest during his Ordination. Part of the prayer for the anointing during baptism is, “As Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King, so may you live always as a member of his body, sharing everlasting life.”
Secondly, the white garment is put on the child. Part of the prayer accompanying putting on the white garment is, “…you have clothed yourself in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity”.
Thirdly, a lighted candle is given to the parents, a symbol of receiving the light of Christ. Part of the prayer accompanying this is, “This child of yours has been enlightened by Christ.”
Fourthly, the ears and mouth of the child are blessed because they will hear the Word of God and the child will profess his/her faith.
Being baptized as children would make no sense and have no meaning if as we grew up we didn’t put our baptism into effect, if we didn’t live like people who have been baptized into the Catholic Church.
Baptism has two fundamental meanings. The first meaning is pretty much known by the majority of those who seek baptism. We have always been taught that through baptism we become part of the church and the nature of our church is that it is open to everybody.
The second meaning of baptism is that when we are baptized Jesus through the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and with us. From that moment we are also destined for eternity. Every morning when you open your eyes give yourself time to hear Jesus saying to you the very words that Jesus himself heard when He was baptized. “Mary, John, Andrew, Judy Sunny you are my beloved son, You are my beloved daughter. My favour, my care, my attention, my presence, everything that I have rests with you today.
12th anniversary of my Priestly ordination
Dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, Today is a special day in my life.12 years ago on 5th of January 1997 Bishop told me When you baptize, you will bring men and women into the people of God. In the sacrament of penance, you will forgive sins in the name of Christ and the Church. With holy oil you will relieve and console the sick. You will celebrate the liturgy, and offer thanks and praise to God throughout the day, praying not only for the people of God but for the whole world. Remember that you are chosen from among God's people and appointed to act for them in relation to God. Do your part in the work Christ the Priest with genuine joy and love, and attend to the concerns of Christ before your own.
Every Anniversaries is a Time to Remember, a Time to Look Ahead
I am never quite sure “when did I decide to be a priest because there was never an instant revelation or a profound moment of decisive insight but I know it is from my childhood onwards I was preparing to follow Christ. No matter what is our vocation in life, as disciples, we begin every morning to answer that call and live it as best we can for another day.
Through the years, the Lord sustained me," He lifted me up when I faltered. To Him be glory! "Looking back to the past, twelve years ago, I cannot but remember with great affection and gratitude so many people that contributed to my life in a meaningful way. I realized that each position I was assigned taught me something. Each person I met on my road helped me to grow and every moment of my life was a providence of God. To my parents I owe much, not only for the life they gave me, but also for the faith and the willingness to serve. God asked them for a big sacrifice when they gave their youngest son to the priesthood.
I also remember today with appreciation, the priests, sisters and teachers who shaped my life and vocation in the many institutions where I have studied and also in the Order of Carmelites. Thank you all for what you are to me .
Every follower of Christ has need of a faith that has overcome the world. It is not only priests and preachers who meet with resistance, and rejection and possibly even hostility. All of us can expect some kind of distress as we live according to the teachings of our Lord. None can predict just what form it might take.
What can separate us from the love of Christ? Distress, pressure, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger or the sword?… But in all these things we overcome because of the one who loves us (Romans 8: 35- 37).
When we set out on life's journey, we don't know where it will take us. Every time I celebrate the Holy Mysteries, I am fully aware that it is God’s Grace that granted me this privilege. And I pray that God will allow me to die as a holy Priest.
January 5th is the feast of St. John Nepomucene Neumann. St. John Neumann was the fourth bishop of Philadelphia, and held that position from 1852 to 1860. He was the first male canonized saint from the United States. John was born March 28, 1811 in what is now the Czech Republic. On January 8, 1860, he died of a stroke while walking down the street. In 1977 he was canonized by Pope Paul VI and his incorrupt body is displayed in a glass altar in the lower church of St Peter the Apostle.
Epiphany
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
This Feast, Epiphany, usually celebrated on January 6th, commemorates the manifestation of the glory of Christ that was shown upon the Gentiles in the person of the Magi, as well as His Baptism and the first miracle at Cana. Today's First Reading from the Book of Isaiah [Is. 60:1-6] states, "They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord." [Is. 60:1-6] As the Gospel of Matthew affirms, "wise men (magi) from the East came to Jerusalem" [Mt. 2:1] and offered baby Jesus "gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." [Mt. 2:11] “the kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute” {Psalm 72:10}. In 735, St. Bede the Venerable recorded that the three Magi were named Gaspar, Balthasar, and Melchior. He also wrote that they were of different ages and races. It became a tradition that they were from the three known continents of that time, and were of the three stages of a man’s life. Gaspar, depicted in old age, is King of Tarsus and is considered European; Melchior is mature or middle-aged, and is the Ruler of Arabia and Nubia in Asia; Balthasar is a young man, and is the “Moorish” (African) Prince of Seba, a message that Christ came for all the world, all races and nations. Psalm 72:11 prophesied that “All kings shall pay him homage, all nations shall serve him.”
The Magi bring their gifts to the Christ, who is Himself the greatest gift ever given to the world. Have you ever wondered why the three magi offered gold, frankincense and myrrh to baby Jesus? Surely, they could have offered something more valuable such as diamonds, platinum and gold. Now that has value! Obviously, it was not the goal of the three magi to offer baby Jesus valuable items. Their goal was to offer symbolic items. Gaspar presents a chest of gold, a proper tribute to bring a newborn King. The magi did not perceive Jesus as their equal but rather as their King. Melchior holds a thurible (or censer) of frankincense, the smoke of which rises like the prayers and praise of the faithful. This substance, made from the gum of a shrub found in Arabia and India, was used in some cultures to give worship to gods and deified emperors. Here it gives worship to the divinity of Jesus. The magi perceived Jesus to be a priest, one who is an advocate between God and man. Balthasar presents the Child, Who is destined to die as a Sacrifice for the sins of mankind, the most somber of the three gifts: myrrh, used for embalming the dead. While the magi perceived that Jesus was their King and a priest, they also perceived that He would die for the salvation of humankind.
The key to the story of today’s gospel is the scene of Herod, with the scribes and the chief priests, When the travelers asked, “Where is he who is born king of the Jews? Herod was frightened.
Normally Herod was not a man to be easily frightened. History reveals to us that Herod the Great, a satellite king of Judea, reigned from 37 to 4 B.C. He was an efficient ruler and had rebuilt the temple so that it was enlarged and magnificent. So what frightened him?
The wise men are looking for one who is born King of the Jews. Herod was not born King of the Jews! He had been made King by the Roman Emperor. Here is an echo of the story of Solomon. He built the first temple. He was born King of the Jews. His father was David, son of Jesse.
In the genealogy, which opens the story of Jesus, Matthew stresses that Jesus is the son of David, of the line of Jesse, born in Bethlehem, the city of David. The expectations of the Jewish people, so intense in the time of Jesus, were to be fulfilled. That is why Herod was frightened.
Baby Jesus experienced both acceptance from the wise men and rejection from Herod. The wise men and Herod had two opposing attitudes, searching for God and being closed to God.
The wise men and Herod had different attitudes to Jesus, but also they had different attitudes to life. The wise men were generous, Herod was selfish wanting to hold on to his throne. The magi gave gifts to Jesus; Herod killed all boys under two years of age. The magi who sacrificed to put into life were happy, Herod who took all he could from life was unhappy.
The wise men’s journey of a thousand miles or more westwards from Persia which could have taken three months is really a symbol of the inward journey they made in their hearts, a journey from paganism to belief in Jesus as the Savior of the world. They didn’t travel to Bethlehem in limousines on nicely paved roads; they came riding on camels, on rough, treacherous roads with danger around every corner. And when they finally arrived at the house where the Holy Family was, they gave Jesus 3 precious gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. They came to give, not to receive. Indeed not just the wise men but all of us are on a journey to get closer to Jesus our Savior.
The magi gave: they gave their time, they gave their energy, they gave their resources, they gave the most precious gifts they had—and they found the happiness that selfish Herod did not. They can be an example to us today. In addition to the gold, frankincense, and myrrh, they gave Jesus some gifts we can give him today: their hope, their time, and their worship. When everyone else saw a night sky, this small band of men saw the light.
When the wise men arrived in Jerusalem, it seems they no longer had the guidance of the star; otherwise they would not have had to ask Herod for advice. Sometimes we too feel as if we are in the dark, like the magi. Sometimes what or whom we relied on is not there any more. Sometimes we see only darkness around us. But we know that Jesus is there, and that eternal life awaits us even if sometimes in this world there is no star for us.
Yes dear brothers and sisters, as we move into this New Year the gospel tells us, travel as the Wise Men did, go another way.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
This Feast, Epiphany, usually celebrated on January 6th, commemorates the manifestation of the glory of Christ that was shown upon the Gentiles in the person of the Magi, as well as His Baptism and the first miracle at Cana. Today's First Reading from the Book of Isaiah [Is. 60:1-6] states, "They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord." [Is. 60:1-6] As the Gospel of Matthew affirms, "wise men (magi) from the East came to Jerusalem" [Mt. 2:1] and offered baby Jesus "gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." [Mt. 2:11] “the kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute” {Psalm 72:10}. In 735, St. Bede the Venerable recorded that the three Magi were named Gaspar, Balthasar, and Melchior. He also wrote that they were of different ages and races. It became a tradition that they were from the three known continents of that time, and were of the three stages of a man’s life. Gaspar, depicted in old age, is King of Tarsus and is considered European; Melchior is mature or middle-aged, and is the Ruler of Arabia and Nubia in Asia; Balthasar is a young man, and is the “Moorish” (African) Prince of Seba, a message that Christ came for all the world, all races and nations. Psalm 72:11 prophesied that “All kings shall pay him homage, all nations shall serve him.”
The Magi bring their gifts to the Christ, who is Himself the greatest gift ever given to the world. Have you ever wondered why the three magi offered gold, frankincense and myrrh to baby Jesus? Surely, they could have offered something more valuable such as diamonds, platinum and gold. Now that has value! Obviously, it was not the goal of the three magi to offer baby Jesus valuable items. Their goal was to offer symbolic items. Gaspar presents a chest of gold, a proper tribute to bring a newborn King. The magi did not perceive Jesus as their equal but rather as their King. Melchior holds a thurible (or censer) of frankincense, the smoke of which rises like the prayers and praise of the faithful. This substance, made from the gum of a shrub found in Arabia and India, was used in some cultures to give worship to gods and deified emperors. Here it gives worship to the divinity of Jesus. The magi perceived Jesus to be a priest, one who is an advocate between God and man. Balthasar presents the Child, Who is destined to die as a Sacrifice for the sins of mankind, the most somber of the three gifts: myrrh, used for embalming the dead. While the magi perceived that Jesus was their King and a priest, they also perceived that He would die for the salvation of humankind.
The key to the story of today’s gospel is the scene of Herod, with the scribes and the chief priests, When the travelers asked, “Where is he who is born king of the Jews? Herod was frightened.
Normally Herod was not a man to be easily frightened. History reveals to us that Herod the Great, a satellite king of Judea, reigned from 37 to 4 B.C. He was an efficient ruler and had rebuilt the temple so that it was enlarged and magnificent. So what frightened him?
The wise men are looking for one who is born King of the Jews. Herod was not born King of the Jews! He had been made King by the Roman Emperor. Here is an echo of the story of Solomon. He built the first temple. He was born King of the Jews. His father was David, son of Jesse.
In the genealogy, which opens the story of Jesus, Matthew stresses that Jesus is the son of David, of the line of Jesse, born in Bethlehem, the city of David. The expectations of the Jewish people, so intense in the time of Jesus, were to be fulfilled. That is why Herod was frightened.
Baby Jesus experienced both acceptance from the wise men and rejection from Herod. The wise men and Herod had two opposing attitudes, searching for God and being closed to God.
The wise men and Herod had different attitudes to Jesus, but also they had different attitudes to life. The wise men were generous, Herod was selfish wanting to hold on to his throne. The magi gave gifts to Jesus; Herod killed all boys under two years of age. The magi who sacrificed to put into life were happy, Herod who took all he could from life was unhappy.
The wise men’s journey of a thousand miles or more westwards from Persia which could have taken three months is really a symbol of the inward journey they made in their hearts, a journey from paganism to belief in Jesus as the Savior of the world. They didn’t travel to Bethlehem in limousines on nicely paved roads; they came riding on camels, on rough, treacherous roads with danger around every corner. And when they finally arrived at the house where the Holy Family was, they gave Jesus 3 precious gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. They came to give, not to receive. Indeed not just the wise men but all of us are on a journey to get closer to Jesus our Savior.
The magi gave: they gave their time, they gave their energy, they gave their resources, they gave the most precious gifts they had—and they found the happiness that selfish Herod did not. They can be an example to us today. In addition to the gold, frankincense, and myrrh, they gave Jesus some gifts we can give him today: their hope, their time, and their worship. When everyone else saw a night sky, this small band of men saw the light.
When the wise men arrived in Jerusalem, it seems they no longer had the guidance of the star; otherwise they would not have had to ask Herod for advice. Sometimes we too feel as if we are in the dark, like the magi. Sometimes what or whom we relied on is not there any more. Sometimes we see only darkness around us. But we know that Jesus is there, and that eternal life awaits us even if sometimes in this world there is no star for us.
Yes dear brothers and sisters, as we move into this New Year the gospel tells us, travel as the Wise Men did, go another way.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
St John the Evangelist
John was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and the brother of James the Greater. In the Gospels the two brothers are often called after their father "the sons of Zebedee" and received from Christ the honourable title of Boanerges, i.e. "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17). Originally they were fishermen and fished with their father in the Lake of Genesareth. According to the usual and entirely probable explanation they became, however, for a time disciples of John the Baptist, and were called by Christ from the circle of John's followers, together with Peter and Andrew, to become His disciples (John 1:35-42). The first disciples returned with their new Master from the Jordan to Galilee and apparently both John and the others remained for some time with Jesus (cf. John ii, 12, 22; iv, 2, 8, 27 sqq.). Yet after the second return from Judea, John and his companions went back again to their trade of fishing until he and they were called by Christ to definitive discipleship (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20).
From James being thus placed first, the conclusion is drawn that John was the younger of the two brothers. In any case John had a prominent position in the Apostolic body. Peter, James, and he were the only witnesses of the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:37), of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1), and of the Agony in Gethsemani (Matthew 26:37). Only he and Peter were sent into the city to make the preparation for the Last Supper (Luke 22:8). At the Supper itself his place was next to Christ on Whose breast he leaned (John 13:23, 25). According to the general interpretation John was also that "other disciple" who with Peter followed Christ after the arrest into the palace of the high-priest (John 18:15). John alone remained near his beloved Master at the foot of the Cross on Calvary with the Mother of Jesus and the pious women, and took the desolate Mother into his care as the last legacy of Christ (John 19:25-27). After the Resurrection John with Peter was the first of the disciples to hasten to the grave and he was the first to believe that Christ had truly risen (John 20:2-10). When later Christ appeared at the Lake of Genesareth John was also the first of the seven disciples present who recognized his Master standing on the shore (John 21:7). The Fourth Evangelist has shown us most clearly how close the relationship was in which he always stood to his Lord and Master by the title with which he is accustomed to indicate himself without giving his name: "the disciple whom Jesus loved". After Christ's Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, John took, together with Peter, a prominent part in the founding and guidance of the Church. We see him in the company of Peter at the healing of the lame man in the Temple (Acts 3:1 sqq.). With Peter he is also thrown into prison (Acts 4:3). Again, we find him with the prince of the Apostles visiting the newly converted in Samaria (Acts 8:14).
Christian art usually represents St John with an eagle, symbolizing the heights to which he rises in the first chapter of his Gospel. The chalice as symbolic of St John, which, according to some authorities, was not adopted until the thirteenth century, is sometimes interpreted with reference to the Last Supper, again as connected with the legend according to which St. John was handed a cup of poisoned wine, from which, at his blessing, the poison rose in the shape of a serpent. Perhaps the most natural explanation is to be found in the words of Christ to John and James "My chalice indeed you shall drink" (Matthew 20:23). In his old age, when unable to do more, he was carried into the assembly of the Church at Ephesus, and his sole exhortation was, "Little children, love one another."
The date of his death cannot be fixed with anything like precision, but it is certain that he lived to a very advanced age. The only one to live into old age; and not martyred for his faith. John the Evangelist is associated with Ephesus, where he is said to have lived and been buried.
John was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and the brother of James the Greater. In the Gospels the two brothers are often called after their father "the sons of Zebedee" and received from Christ the honourable title of Boanerges, i.e. "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17). Originally they were fishermen and fished with their father in the Lake of Genesareth. According to the usual and entirely probable explanation they became, however, for a time disciples of John the Baptist, and were called by Christ from the circle of John's followers, together with Peter and Andrew, to become His disciples (John 1:35-42). The first disciples returned with their new Master from the Jordan to Galilee and apparently both John and the others remained for some time with Jesus (cf. John ii, 12, 22; iv, 2, 8, 27 sqq.). Yet after the second return from Judea, John and his companions went back again to their trade of fishing until he and they were called by Christ to definitive discipleship (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20).
From James being thus placed first, the conclusion is drawn that John was the younger of the two brothers. In any case John had a prominent position in the Apostolic body. Peter, James, and he were the only witnesses of the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:37), of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1), and of the Agony in Gethsemani (Matthew 26:37). Only he and Peter were sent into the city to make the preparation for the Last Supper (Luke 22:8). At the Supper itself his place was next to Christ on Whose breast he leaned (John 13:23, 25). According to the general interpretation John was also that "other disciple" who with Peter followed Christ after the arrest into the palace of the high-priest (John 18:15). John alone remained near his beloved Master at the foot of the Cross on Calvary with the Mother of Jesus and the pious women, and took the desolate Mother into his care as the last legacy of Christ (John 19:25-27). After the Resurrection John with Peter was the first of the disciples to hasten to the grave and he was the first to believe that Christ had truly risen (John 20:2-10). When later Christ appeared at the Lake of Genesareth John was also the first of the seven disciples present who recognized his Master standing on the shore (John 21:7). The Fourth Evangelist has shown us most clearly how close the relationship was in which he always stood to his Lord and Master by the title with which he is accustomed to indicate himself without giving his name: "the disciple whom Jesus loved". After Christ's Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, John took, together with Peter, a prominent part in the founding and guidance of the Church. We see him in the company of Peter at the healing of the lame man in the Temple (Acts 3:1 sqq.). With Peter he is also thrown into prison (Acts 4:3). Again, we find him with the prince of the Apostles visiting the newly converted in Samaria (Acts 8:14).
Christian art usually represents St John with an eagle, symbolizing the heights to which he rises in the first chapter of his Gospel. The chalice as symbolic of St John, which, according to some authorities, was not adopted until the thirteenth century, is sometimes interpreted with reference to the Last Supper, again as connected with the legend according to which St. John was handed a cup of poisoned wine, from which, at his blessing, the poison rose in the shape of a serpent. Perhaps the most natural explanation is to be found in the words of Christ to John and James "My chalice indeed you shall drink" (Matthew 20:23). In his old age, when unable to do more, he was carried into the assembly of the Church at Ephesus, and his sole exhortation was, "Little children, love one another."
The date of his death cannot be fixed with anything like precision, but it is certain that he lived to a very advanced age. The only one to live into old age; and not martyred for his faith. John the Evangelist is associated with Ephesus, where he is said to have lived and been buried.
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