St. John's Dramatic Close of the Gospel

Homily for Saturday of the Seventh Week in Easter

For this last weekday mass of the Easter Season, we read of the last words of St. John’s Gospel. They are as dramatic as his Gospel’s first words. St. John has a keen sense of the epic nature of the story he is narrating, of the universal meaning of Christ. Recall the first words of his gospel: “In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… all things came to be through him.” From the very first verses, St. John conveys the eternal and cosmic nature of Jesus. Likewise, at the end, St. John writes that the whole world cannot contain all that could be written about Jesus. The story is far too epic; it is eternal.

At the same time, St. John has a sense of the very specific nature of Christ’s relationships. John portrays a very sensitive and affectionate Jesus with personal relationships. This is especially true with two of his closest apostles: John himself and Peter. Jesus has a unique relationship with each of his disciples; there is no need for rivalry or envy among them. So the question that St. Peter asks of Jesus about St. John is the cause of one more reproof of St. Peter’s tendency to speak first and think later. Jesus is not only the eternal and universal Christ, but the intimate friend and Savior of specific persons: John, Peter, you, and me.

Modern telescopes reveal to us the expanding dimensions of space and time. Worldwide social media networks can make us feel farther apart rather than closer together. However, we need not feel alone because the creator of all is not cold and impersonal, but intimate and loving. As we celebrate the Eucharist, we are even more aware of the universal closeness of Christ, for nothing is more intimate than the way he comes to us through the sharing of his very body and blood. Through word and sacrament, Jesus is here with each of us, every day, eternally.