December 27 

Feast: St John, Apostle and Evangelist

1st Reading: 1 John 1:1-4

Prologue
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[1] That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands,
concerning the word of life--[2] the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and
testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and
was made manifest to us--[3] that which we have seen and heard we proclaim
also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with
the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. [4] And we are writing this that our
joy may be complete.

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Commentary:

1-4. Since the time of the Fathers, these verses have been described as the
prologue", like the prologue of the Fourth Gospel (Jn 1:1-18). In fact, there are
many similarities in doctrine, style and even language between the two.

Both passages sing the praises of the mystery of the Incarnation: the Word of
God who existed from all eternity, "from the beginning", became man (has been
seen, heard, looked upon and touched) so that men might partake of divine life
--might have "fellowship", communion, with the Father and the Son. Like the
Gospel prologue, this one is written in a rhythmical way--"That which was...,
which we have heard..., which we have seen...". And many of the ideas are the
same--for example, thereference to "the beginning" (cf. Jn 1:1); the term "the
Word" to refer to the second Person of the Blessed Trinity; the reference to
"life" (cf. Jn 1:4).

As St Bede points out, "from the very start of the epistle we are being taught the
divinity and, at the same time, the humanity of our God and Lord Jesus Christ"
("In I Epist. S. Ioannis, ad loc.").

1. "That which was from the beginning": although the pronoun used is neuter--as
if to indicate the ineffable character of the mystery of Christ--the whole phrase
refers not to a thing or an abstract teaching, but to the divine Person of the Son,
who in the fullness of time was made manifest (v. 2), assuming a human nature.
In other words, St John, as in his Gospel, is teaching that Jesus, a historical
person (the Apostles have lived with him, have seen him, have heard him speak)
is the eternal Word of God (cf. Jn 1:1 and note).

"That which we have heard,...seen...": all those references to perception by the
senses show the Apostle's desire to make it clear that God really did become
man. This may be because certain heretics were denying the Incarnation, or it
may simply be that he thought it necessary to spell out this fundamental truth
of our faith. He did so in the Gospel (cf., e.g., Jn 20:30-31); and in this letter we
frequently find phrases like "Jesus Christ has come in the flesh" (4:2); "Jesus
is the Christ" (2:22; cf. 5:1); "Jesus is the Son of God" (4:15; cf.5:1, 12,20).

We have recently been reminded that "the Church reverently preserved the
mystery of the Son of God, who was made man, and in the course of the ages
and of the centuries has propounded it for belief in a more explicit way";
moreover, what the Church teaches "concerning the one and the same Christ
the Son of God, begotten before the ages in his divine nature and in time in his
human nature, and also concerning the eternal persons of the Most Holy Trinity,
belongs to the immutable truth of the Catholic faith" (SCDF, "Mysterium Filii
Dei", 2 and 6).

2. St John introduces this verse by way of parenthesis to explain what he means
by "the word of life". In the Gospel he had written, "In him [the Word] was life"
(Jn 1:4) and elsewhere he records Jesus' statement, "I am the bread of life" (Jn
6:35, 48). These expressions declare that the Son of God has life in all its
fullness, that is, divine life, the source of all life, natural and supernatural. Jesus
in fact identified himself with Life (cf. Jn 11:25; 14:6). By the Incarnation, the
Word of God manifests true life and at the same time makes it possible for that
life to be communicated to men--imperfectly, by means of grace, while they are
in this world, and perfectly in heaven, by means of the beatific vision (cf. 1 Jn
5: 12).

"And we testify to it": the testimony of the Apostles is something unique in the
history of the Church, because (unlike those who succeed them) they know our
Lord personally, they have been "witnesses" of his life, death and resurrection
(cf. Lk 24:48; Acts 1:8).

"With the Father": the Greek implies closeness, difference, and the mutual
relationship between Father and Son, so providing a glimpse of the mystery of
the Blessed Trinity (cf. note on Jn 1:1).

3-4. This testimony about Christ is designed to lead to fellowship and complete
joy. Fellowship with the Apostles (the Greek word is "koinonia") means, firstly,
having the same faith as those who lived with Jesus: "They saw our Lord in the
body," St Augustine reminds us, "and they heard words from his lips and have
proclaimed them to us; we also have heard them, but we have not seen him
[...]. They saw him, we do not see him, and yet we have fellowship with them,
because we have the same faith" ("In Epist. Ioann. ad Parthos", 1, 3).

To have fellowship with the Father and the Son we need to have the same faith
as the Apostles: "St John openly teaches that those who desire to partake of
union with God must first partake of union with the Church, learn the same faith
and benefit from the same sacraments as the Apostles received from the fullness
of Truth made flesh" (St Bede, "In I Epist. S. Ioannis, ad loc."). The Church, the
Second Vatican Council teaches, is not simply a collection of people who think
the same way; it is the people of God "whom Christ established as a communion
of life, love and truth" ("Lumen Gentium", 9).

Fellowship, communion, with the Apostles, with the Church, has as its purpose
to bring about union with God ("with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ");
this is a subject St John develops over the course of this letter, as he previously
did in his Gospel (cf., e.g., Jn 17: 20ff). Here he uses expressions such as "to
have the Son", and, in respect of the Son, "to have the Father" (2:23; 5:11ff);
"to be in God" (2:5; 5:20); "to abide in God" (2:6, 24; 3:24; 4:13, 15, 16). This
deep, intimate communion means that, without losing his personality, man
shares in a wonderful and real way in the life of God himself. If Sacred Scripture
uses many different expressions in this connection, it is due to the fact that the
human mind, because it is so limited, cannot fully grasp the marvelous truth of
communion with God.

Complete joy is the outcome of this communion. Most manuscripts say "our
joy"; others, including the Vulgate, say "your joy". The difference is not
important, because "our" involves the Apostles and the faithful, particularly in
view of the mutual fellowship previously mentioned (cf. Jn 15:11; 17:13). This
joy, which will reach its fullness in the next life, is already in this life in some
sense complete, insofar as knowledge of Jesus is the only thing that can
satisfy man's aspirations.

1:5-2:29. This section describes what communion with God is, and the
demands it makes on us. We can say there are two parts in the section: the
first (1:5 - 2: 11) teaches that communion with God means walking in the light
and, therefore, rejecting sin and keeping the commandments. The second
(2:12-19) warns the readers to guard against worldly concupiscence and not
trust false teachers.

St John is writing as a pastor of souls who has lived the life of the Lord and
reflected deeply upon it. His teaching interweaves truths of faith with moral and
ascetical demands because he wants Christians to live in a way consistent with
their faith. Therefore, the text does not really divide into a doctrinal section and
a moral section.

Gospel Reading: John 20:1a, 2-8

The Empty Tomb
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[1a] Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early.
[2] So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom
Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and
we do not know where they have laid Him." [3 ]Peter then came out with the
other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. [4] They both ran, but the other
disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; [5] and stooping to look in, he
saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. [6] Then Simon Peter
came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, [7]
and the napkin, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen cloths but
rolled up in a place by itself. [8] Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb
first, also went in, and he saw and believed.

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Commentary:

[가톨릭 교회의 전례력에 있어, 오늘의 복음 말씀에 대한 해설의 우리말 번역은 
여기를 클릭하면 읽을 수 있는 매년 부활절 주일 복음 말씀(요한 20,1-9)에 대한 
해설에 주어져 있다.]

1-2. All four Gospels report the first testimonies of the holy women and the
disciples regarding Christ's glorious resurrection, beginning with the fact of the
empty tomb (cf. Matthew 28:1-15; Mark 16:1ff; Luke 24:1-12) and then telling of
the various appearances of the risen Jesus.

Mary Magdalene was one of the women who provided for our Lord during His
journeys (Luke 8:1-3); along with the Virgin Mary she bravely stayed with Him
right up to His final moments (John 19:25), and she saw where His body was
laid (Luke 23:55). Now, after the obligatory Sabbath rest, she goes to visit the
tomb. The Gospel points out that she went "early, when it was still dark": her
love and veneration led her to go without delay, to be with our Lord's body.

4. The Fourth Gospel makes it clear that, although the women, and specifically
Mary Magdalene, were the first to reach the tomb, the Apostles were the first
to enter it and see the evidence that Christ had risen (the empty tomb, the linen
clothes "lying" and the napkin in a place by itself). Bearing witness to this will
be an essential factor in the mission which Christ will entrust to them: "You
shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem ... nd to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8; cf.
Acts 2:32).

John, who reached the tomb first (perhaps because he was the younger), did not
go in, out of deference to Peter. This is an indication that Peter was already
regarded as leader of the Apostles.

5-7. The words the Evangelist uses to describe what Peter and he saw in the
empty tomb convey with vivid realism the impression it made on them, etching
on their memory details which at first sight seem irrelevant. The whole scene
inside the tomb in some way caused them to intuit that the Lord had risen.
Some of the words contained in the account need further explanation, so terse
is the translation.

"The linen clothes lying there": the Greek participle translated as "lying there"
seems to indicate that the clothes were flattened, deflated, as if they were
emptied when the body of Jesus rose and disappeared -- as if it had come out
of the clothes and bandages without their being unrolled, passing right through
them (just as later He entered the Cenacle when the doors were shut). This
would explain the clothes being "fallen", "flat" "lying", which is how the Greek
literally translates, after Jesus' body--which had filled them--left them. One can
readily understand how this would amaze a witness, how nforgettable the scene
would be.

"The napkin...rolled up in a place by itself": the first point to note is that the
napkin, which had been wrapped round the head, was not on top of the clothes,
but placed on one side. The second, even more surprising thing is that, like the
clothes, it was still rolled up but, unlike the clothes, it still had a certain volume,
like a container, possibly due to the stiffness given it by the ointments: this is
what the Greek participle, here translated as "rolled", seems to indicate.

From these details concerning the empty tomb one deduces that Jesus' body
must have risen in a heavenly manner, that is, in a way which transcended the
laws of nature. It was not only a matter of the body being reanimated as
happened, for example, in the case of Lazarus, who had to be unbound before
he could walk (cf. John 11:44).

8-10. As Mary Magdalene had told them, the Lord was not in the tomb; but the
two Apostles realized that there was no question of any robbery, which was what
she thought had happened, because they saw the special way the clothes and
napkin were; they know began to understand what the Master had so often told
them about His death and resurrection (cf. Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke
9:22; etc....)

The empty tomb and the other facts were perceptible to the senses; but the
resurrection, even though it had effects that could be tested by experience,
requires faith if it is to be accepted. Christ's resurrection is a real, historic fact:
His body and soul were reunited. But since His was a glorious resurrection
unlike Lazarus', far beyond our capacity in this life to understand what happened,
and outside the scope of sense experience, a special gift of God is required --
the gift of faith -- to know and accept as a certainty this fact which, while it is
historical, is also supernatural. Therefore, St. Thomas Aquinas can say that
"the individual arguments taken alone are not sufficient proof of Christ's
resurrection, but taken together, in a cumulative way, they manifest it perfectly.
Particularly important in this regard are the spiritual proofs (cf. specially Luke
24:25-27), the angelic testimony (cf. Luke 24:4-7) and Christ's own post-
resurrection word confirmed by miracles (cf. John 3:13; Matthew 16:21; 17:22;
20:18)" (St. Thomas Aquinas, "Summa Theologiae", III, q. 55, a. 6 ad 1).

In addition to Christ's predictions about His passion, death and resurrection (cf.
John 2:19; Matthew 16:21; Mark 9:31; Luke 9:22), the Old Testament also
foretells the glorious victory of the Messiah and, in some way, His resurrection
(cf. Psalm 16:9; Isaiah 52:13; Hosea 6:2). The Apostles begin to grasp the true
meaning of Sacred Scripture after the resurrection, particularly once they receive
the Holy Spirit, who fully enlightens their minds to understand the content of the
Word of God. It is easy to imagine the surprise and elation they all feel when
Peter and John tell them what they have seen in the tomb.


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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

[참고: 이 파일은 저서명 "가톨릭 교회의 말씀 전례에 따른 성경공부 해설서"(엮은이: 소순태, 출판사: 가톨릭출판사)의 각주의 연장으로 마련되었습니다].