Seeing is Believing December 27

Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist

What we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us. 1 John 1:3

Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. John 20:8

Piety

Behold the Lamb of God!

St. John, from the day you encountered Christ in the desert until you stood at the foot of the cross with Mary, you were always the first to recognize Jesus. Your writings helped us learn the Good News and spread the message of the Word made flesh. You taught us so much that Jesus did and said in your presence. You taught us that the sun of righteousness would rise with healing wings. You taught us that Christ is the vine and we are the branches. You taught us to love one another. Continue to teach us today and help keep our eyes open, our ears tuned, our hands ready, and our hearts loving so we can pass on this faith to others. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/122706.shtml

Seeing is believing.

Scriptures have taken us on a bumpy ride this week from Christmas on Monday…to Martyrdom on Tuesday…to Evangelization and Witnessing on Wednesday.

Yesterday, the day after we commemorated the living incarnation, the Joy to the World, we had a reminder of the cost of grace in the martyring of St. Stephen stoned. He was attacked by a group of people who were not challenged with the words, “He without sin may cast the first stone.”

In Stephen yesterday we saw what happens when people reject the message and the price paid by the followers of Jesus. They could not see what had happened and did not have faith.

Today, we mark the life of St. John, often described as “the disciple Jesus loved.” In John, we have eyewitnesses to the historical Jesus. We instead see people who accept the message of Jesus and act on that…seeing is believing for them.

John celebrates waking in light and truth, not merely on an intellectual level but on a moral plane as well. Fellowship with God (vertically) (║) and with one another (horizontally) (═) consists in a life according to the truth as found in God and in Christ. The sum total of both experiences (╬) is another dimension on the joy and fullness of Christianity made possible only through the birth of the innocent baby in Bethlehem.

So although these two feast days seem to divert our attention away from celebrating the incarnation of God made flesh, in reality, they fulfill the picture of faith, hope and charity symbolized by that solitary moment in the quiet night of Bethlehem so many long years ago. And they remind us of the need today and always to grow in and through Piety, Study and Action.

Action

Peace on Earth?

The news is certainly mixed on this front.

World leaders continue to say the right things and do little to intervene in the genocide happening in Darfur.

Israeli Prime Minister Olmert has ordered the removal of many roadblocks and checkpoints in Palestinian territory. Plus he has unfrozen some of the financial assets of the moderate elements of Palestinian leaders and met in summit for the first time with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Newspapers and broadcasts on Christmas morning announced to us that Ethiopia has joined in the attacks on a faction trying to unseat the weak, UN-supported government of Somalia. Refugees are fleeing to already over-crowded camps in Kenya. Analysts tell us they fear the fighting could spread to the entire Horn of Africa.

Poor and indigent families in Nigeria trying to tap into the oil-rich resources of their country which are not available to them ended up victims of an explosion as the pipeline burst into flames.

Iran and North Korea continue to seek nuclear weapons.

Taiwan is reeling from a 7.2 earthquake and stories of the aftermath of this natural disaster have yet to reach us in the west. Ironically, the earth quaked on the second anniversary of the South Asian Tsunami.

The world certainly is in need of the Prince of Peace today. Christ has "no body" and nobody now but you and yours, St. Therese teaches us. We are his arms and legs. While we can not do everything everywhere, consider where your time and voice may lend support to struggling organizations, your talent can assist workers helping in affected areas and your treasure can provide much needed support to people truly in need of relief and development efforts here and abroad.