Wednesday of the Third Day in the Octave of Christmas (December 27, 2017): Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist

1 John 1:1-4
Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
John 20:1a, 2-8
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/122717.cfm

USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/17_12_27.mp3

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John. 

On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we do not know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.

Good News Reflection: Alive in the fellowship of the Lord

Let’s use today’s first reading as a Christmas meditation.

What have you “seen and heard” from God this Christmas?

How has Christ’s life become visible to you?

How has this Christmas been a time of experiencing fellowship with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ?

No matter what went wrong this Christmas — what went imperfectly, what was frustrating, what tested your faith or your strength of character, what was lonely or dissatisfying — you were in fellowship with the Christ child and his heavenly Daddy.

Whatever happened that was good and right and a source of joy, this too occurred in the fellowship of God’s wonderful company.

Can you see the good news in your experience of such a holy fellowship? Can you hear the presence of God?

Today’s responsorial psalm beckons us to rejoice in the Lord. It says that “the mountains melt like wax before the Lord.” Whatever mountain of difficulty you witnessed this Christmas (or whenever problems seem insurmountable), it’s really nothing (zilch, zero, nada) compared to the greatness of the Lord! Give him time, let him finish working the plan he’s doing, and you will witness those mountains melting. Guaranteed! It’s a sacred promise!

Christmas is the season of hope, peace, and good will toward all; therefore we expect the ideal but are disappointed by the real. We want Christmas to be better than the rest of the year. However, Christmas is much more than a holiday that happens in the outside circumstances. It’s a new birth of Jesus in our hearts so that God, who loves us immeasurably, can joyfully fellowship with us and extend his friendship out to others through us.

That is the only true source of peace and good will. That is what is really real. The mountains/problems are not real; they are only temporary. The higher reality is God’s eternal fellowship with us.

This is why Mary Magdalene and the other disciples got so excited over the empty tomb (today’s Gospel reading). Others who saw the empty tomb or heard about the resurrection had an opposite reaction. The only ones who were happy about it were those who had let their fellowship with Christ penetrate into an interior relationship of mutual love.

And that, my friends, is the good news of Christ’s life becoming visible. And it needs to be proclaimed! As St. John said, our joy is made complete by sharing the good news with others.

If we merely reflect on the good news privately, our spirits are lifted for a moment. But if we seek someone who will listen as we vocalize our experiences of fellowshipping with the Lord, we birth Jesus more fully into the world.

By sharing the good news, we multiply the good news. We are blessed. Others are blessed. God is blessed.

Today’s Prayer:

Lord, You speak to me clearly day after day. I ask You for the grace to boldly share with my brothers and sisters the wonders You do for me. Amen.

© 2017 by Terry A. Modica

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