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December 27, 2023Traditionally, the Gospel and letters bearing John’s name are attributed to St. John the Evangelist. The Epistle and Gospel complement each other beautifully today. In the first reading, John tells us that “what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of Life.” He assures us that we can be confident of belief in the risen Christ because John himself knew him, as a human being and as the resurrected Lord.
In the Gospel, however, John’s faith comes simply through seeing the empty tomb and the shroud. We get the impression that Peter did not know what to think of this strange thing, but John “saw and believed.”
Like John, we are offered the opportunity to see, to touch, to experience Jesus in a personal way through the Eucharist and through our brothers and sisters--but we are also asked to have faith when we look for the body of Christ and see nothing but rags. We must always be ready to see Christ shining through every person and every situation.
