The feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist, is taken from John, 20th chapter, first through the eighth verse. On the first week, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and told them they have taken the Lord from the tomb and we do not know where they put him. So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first. He bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.

When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there and the cloth that had covered his head not with the bearer claws, but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. Yesterday, the Scriptures reminded us of the cost of discipleship. And what we need to understand is when we go through pain and suffering, it is a transformation, not something to be frightened of. We need transition. We need evolution of consciousness.

We need to grow. So the Church focuses on this day, on how it went with Jesus. The ultimate thing that he did was stand close to his Father, revealing nothing but love and truth. And he was rejected, he was murdered, and he rose. It’s the mystery of transformation. What seems like death, what seems like loss, is just the opposite.

It is new life. After your reflection, I will close with a prayer, Foreign. Closing prayer. Father, as we journey with you, as we invite you to live within us and resonate through us, give us the courage to know whatever setback that we encounter is not something negative, but something that draws us closer into who you are and who we are and how we are to work together. And we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.