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| “St Charles Lawanga and Companions” Artist and date are UNKNOWN |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Acts 28:16-20, 30-31
Commentary on Acts 28:16-20, 30-31
In the concluding verses of Acts we hear of St. Paul’s imprisonment in Rome and how he used his affiliation and knowledge of Jewish Law and customs to reach out to the Jewish community in Rome with an eye to conversion. “Although the ending of Acts may seem to be abrupt, Luke has now completed his story with the establishment of Paul and the proclamation of Christianity in Rome. Paul's confident and unhindered proclamation of the gospel in Rome forms the climax to the story whose outline was provided in Acts 1:8—‘You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem . . . and to the ends of the earth.’”[4]
CCC: Acts 28:20 453
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 11:4, 5 and 7
R. (see 7b) The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Commentary on Ps 11:4, 5 and 7
Psalm 11 is a song (not a prayer) of one who takes refuge in the Temple of the Lord. The psalmist sings of his trust in God’s protection and laments those who trade in violence. The song continues with praise for the one who is steadfast in God’s law.
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Gospel: John 21:20-25
Commentary on Jn 21:20-25
Here we see the very end of the Gospel of St. John. In it we pick up the dialog between Jesus and Peter. Jesus has just told Peter he will be led where he does not wish to go indicating that he (Peter) will suffer martyrdom. Peter sees St. John following and asks about his fate, to which the Lord replies “What if I want him to remain until I come?” Peter interprets this as an affirmative statement and tells the others.
This part of the selection caused problems among the early Church when St. John did die before the Lord came again. The Church lost some credibility and followers as a consequence.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 11:4, 5 and 7
R. (see 7b) The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Commentary on Ps 11:4, 5 and 7
Psalm 11 is a song (not a prayer) of one who takes refuge in the Temple of the Lord. The psalmist sings of his trust in God’s protection and laments those who trade in violence. The song continues with praise for the one who is steadfast in God’s law.
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Gospel: John 21:20-25
Commentary on Jn 21:20-25
Here we see the very end of the Gospel of St. John. In it we pick up the dialog between Jesus and Peter. Jesus has just told Peter he will be led where he does not wish to go indicating that he (Peter) will suffer martyrdom. Peter sees St. John following and asks about his fate, to which the Lord replies “What if I want him to remain until I come?” Peter interprets this as an affirmative statement and tells the others.
This part of the selection caused problems among the early Church when St. John did die before the Lord came again. The Church lost some credibility and followers as a consequence.
CCC: Jn 21:22 878; Jn 21:24 515
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Reflection:
The very end of the Gospel of St. John tells us something that we suspected throughout its reading to be true; that the “disciple whom Jesus loved” was the author himself. He alone among the disciples did not suffer martyrdom. Even Matthias, chosen to replace Judas the betrayer, was martyred for Christ. In his life St. John had time to reflect upon Jesus and all of the events of his life on earth. It was St. John’s community that often grasped the most significant meanings of these events an
d provided a theological subtext for our understanding of the three previous Gospels in our canon of the Bible: Mark, Matthew, and Luke – the synoptics.
From the Evangelist's perspective, as he either wrote or more likely dictated this end to his great work, we wonder about his own feelings. He reveals in these final verses that he alone will not follow his Lord in the kind of death his brothers will suffer. Did he feel guilty? As he set those final words on the page, did he feel fulfilled or did he look at his work as so many authors do and feel that he had not done credit to the subject of his most important work?
As the “Beloved Disciple” we can only speculate that he, knowing Jesus as intimately as he did, would have accepted his role as the one who must tell the story of Jesus with the clearest understanding of the Lord’s deeper intent and with a view born of decades of reflection and contemplation.
For us, who read his work and marvel at his truth these millennia later, Saint John’s Gospel is the Gospel of Love. Here more than any other Book in Sacred Scripture do we most completely feel Christ’s love for us and hear most clearly his commandment to love God and love one another.
For the sake of the Savior of the world and to please the Beloved Disciple who even now must be “…reclined upon his chest,” we pray that from this hour onward our effort to follow these simple sounding commands will be redoubled.
Pax
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Reflection:
The very end of the Gospel of St. John tells us something that we suspected throughout its reading to be true; that the “disciple whom Jesus loved” was the author himself. He alone among the disciples did not suffer martyrdom. Even Matthias, chosen to replace Judas the betrayer, was martyred for Christ. In his life St. John had time to reflect upon Jesus and all of the events of his life on earth. It was St. John’s community that often grasped the most significant meanings of these events an
From the Evangelist's perspective, as he either wrote or more likely dictated this end to his great work, we wonder about his own feelings. He reveals in these final verses that he alone will not follow his Lord in the kind of death his brothers will suffer. Did he feel guilty? As he set those final words on the page, did he feel fulfilled or did he look at his work as so many authors do and feel that he had not done credit to the subject of his most important work?
As the “Beloved Disciple” we can only speculate that he, knowing Jesus as intimately as he did, would have accepted his role as the one who must tell the story of Jesus with the clearest understanding of the Lord’s deeper intent and with a view born of decades of reflection and contemplation.
For us, who read his work and marvel at his truth these millennia later, Saint John’s Gospel is the Gospel of Love. Here more than any other Book in Sacred Scripture do we most completely feel Christ’s love for us and hear most clearly his commandment to love God and love one another.
For the sake of the Savior of the world and to please the Beloved Disciple who even now must be “…reclined upon his chest,” we pray that from this hour onward our effort to follow these simple sounding commands will be redoubled.
Pax
[1] S.S.Commemoratio
[2] The picture used is “St Charles Lawanga and Companions” Artist and date are UNKNOWN
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] See NAB Footnote on Acts 28:30-31
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