Daily Catholic Mass Readings December 27, 2024

DAILY ROMAN CATHOLIC READINGS AND SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS Friday, 27th December 2024 ------------------------------------------------ FRIDAY, CHRISTMAS OCTAVE Feast of Saint John, the Evangelist 1 Jn 1: 1-4 Ps 97: 1-2, 5-6, 11-12 Jn 20: 1-8 ------------------------------------------------ THE POWER OF THE 'JESUS' EXPERIENCE Social scientists and management gurus have been trying to understand for years how Christianity still has so many adherents all over the world, despite being initiated by an unknown carpenter from the remote periphery of the Roman empire, and of having a very strict ethical code, ‘archaic’ worship, and a demanding religious structure? What they do not realize is that Christianity is not a system or an ideology that is based on human reasoning but a conviction based on the mysterious and overwhelming faith experience of a few ordinary men and women of Christ risen from the dead. John the apostle, whose feast we celebrate today, was one such simple, ordinary person, a fisherman by trade making a living by the lake of Galilee with his father Zebedee. Speaking from a management perspective, you cannot do much good with a bunch of such ordinary, unqualified people. The gospel itself is a testament to this. When Jesus was arrested, all of them ran away and hid, leaving him to fend for himself. However, it is the powerful experience of His resurrection that drew them together, never to be scattered again; nothing else could have brought about such a radical transformation that saw them turn from cowards to courageous proclaimers. The Gospel tells us of John and Peter running to the empty tomb; there they encountered an absent Jesus that inexplicably convinced them of his divine presence. In the first reading, John puts into words this experience that effected the radical transformation. So firm was the conviction that they would willingly forgo physical life to affirm it. So strong was their experience of the resurrection of the Lord that nothing, not even life itself, seemed more important than the message of salvation. We are today questioned if we would stand the test of our faith, and urged to visit the empty tomb to find there the living presence of the Lord. Response: Rejoice in the Lord, you just.