Communion by Extension at St Mary and St Milburgh 11am on 27th December 2020 St John the Apostle and Evangelist. Teach us your ways O Lord and we will walk in your truth. Today is dedicated to St John the Apostle and Evangelist. There are 4 people called John mentioned in the New Testament. Our readings imply that these four were one. My reference source adds that these four could be one, but that John was a common name then, and the bible does not definitely say that they were. The four Johns were: 1. John the son of Zebedee brother to James. James and John nicknamed the ‘sons of thunder’ were amongst the first to follow Jesus and become apostles. 2. John was also and author of the 4th gospel. In fact, Evangelist means a Gospel writer. 3. John was the writer of the 2 letters of John - one of our readings this morning is from 1 John 1. 4. John was also the author of the book of Revelation. These letters were written in literary Greek, but with a good knowledge of the Hebrew scripts so one might conclude that they could have been written by the same person. We also must consider that whilst the letters were drafted by John, (the Beloved Disciple as he is often referred to) the final versions could have been edited and polished up by those with a better knowledge of Greek than a rough fisherman’s Greek! All this apart, today is his day. He is the John whom Jesus loved and is mentioned in five verses in the fourth Gospel. 1. At the Last Supper, look at Da Vinci’s picture to see him. 2. Standing at the foot of the Cross, with Mary Jesus’ mother, and Jesus asks him to take care of her. I remember when I visited Ephesus, I was told about the House of Mary a place of pilgrimage where she and John had lived and died there. I add here that there is also a theory that John was martyred with his brother James, these accounts have led to much scholarly discussion. 3. Mary Magdalene told him the tomb was empty. 4. He was the first of the disciples whilst out fishing to recognise Jesus on the lakeside. 5. Peter asks Jesus what would happen to this Beloved Disciple and Jesus replied ‘If it is my will that he will remain until I come, what is that to you? follow me! This John was also there as part of the select three at the transfiguration, he was there in the Garden of Gethsemane and at the raising of Jairus’ daughter, it is obvious there was special relationship with Jesus. We have heard about the life and the thoughts about who John was and there is speculation about him and his story, it is interesting and thought provoking but what we are left with is the text set down for us to take heed of. We celebrate the day, but it is the words of the text that we are left with that guides us. 1 John 1 starts with a declaration that the writer has seen, touched, been with Jesus and learned from him, and he is delighted to be able to be writing these things.

Here is the hope of the Christian message given to us by one who has seen it in all is glory and passion. These are the steps we take as followers. If we walk with the light, we will have fellowship with one another. In our introduction to Confession the words used are: ‘if we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us’. If we confess our sins, we are forgiven and are made clean again. All these wonderful things that happened to John, happened not because he was special, or clever or wise or brave, they happened just because Jesus loved him. Jesus may have loved John, but he also loved all his followers, and that love is there for us all. I think this Evangelist’s life and these readings are a great anchor for us as we head into a New Year. We can and will reflect on the year 2020 and say goodbye. In those reflections there will be regrets, there will be sorrow, but good times have happened, we had shared times together, even if it was on ZOOM. It has not all been doom and gloom some of us have known great support that prayer has brought and seen those prayers answered. So, we can move forward with hope that Good things happen because God loves us, just as this John tells us. I will finish with something from my reference source – ‘We shall never be afraid because we know we always live wrapped up in a warm blanket of God’s love’. Comforting and hopeful thought for 2021. Amen