Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist

LECTIONARY
697

FIRST READING

1 JN 1:1-4

Beloved:
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life —
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us—
what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

PSALM

PS 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12

Response: Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are around him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.

The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.

Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.

GOSPEL

JN 20:1A AND 2-8

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.

Daily Reflection

John and his elder brother James - both fishermen - were followers of John the Baptist until Jesus called them to be His disciples.

In the Gospels, we read of John being among the three disciples closest to Jesus and present at important events in Jesus’ ministry. This is perhaps why the Gospel according to John presents not so much the parables (found in Mathew, Mark and Luke) but deep insights through the teachings and signs of Jesus. The healing of the man born blind – who receives not just sight but insight; Jesus’ teaching about the ‘bread of life’, are but a few of John’s many examples that show how people through their encounter with Jesus, move from ignorance to discovery of who He truly is!

John’s Gospel was written around 100 CE, when Christianity had already spread to the Gentiles, which is why he uses terminology familiar to the non-Jewish world.

Like John, may we too share our God-experience, communicating the Good News to people in a manner they understand best.