Festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
Posted on December 27, 2019 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 1:67-80 (NKJV)
1:67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for rHe has visited and redeemed His people,
69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,
70 as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began,
71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
72 to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant,
73 the oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
74 to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
77 to give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins,
78 through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Devotion
St. John the Evangelist bore witness to the Light—the Lord Jesus Christ. St. John the Baptizer prepared the way for the Light of world—the Dayspring on High. Both Johns brought the Light to the people through the preaching of the Word. They proclaimed what our Lord Jesus Christ will do, has done, and continues to do for His people, the Church–all those who believe on His Name and hope to attain the light of everlasting life.
The Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and its season is often called the season of Light. Our salvation from the darkness of sin is revealed in the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He comes into this dark, sinful world to enlighten us, who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. His holy Word enlightens all those who cling in faith to the promises preached in that Word.
By the working of the Holy Ghost we are filled with the Light of the Christ, so that the darkness of sin no longer has any more hold over us. St. John the Baptist proclaimed to the people of Israel that this Light was coming into the world, and would be revealed as the One upon whom the Spirit would rest. St. John the Evangelist proclaimed that Jesus of Nazareth was that Light, and He suffered and died to bring us who believe on Him into the gates of eternal life.
We pray: Merciful Lord, we beseech Thee to cast the bright beams of Thy light upon Thy Church that it, being instructed by the doctrines of Thy Blessed Apostle and Evangelist Saint John, may attain to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
