The Festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
Posted on December 27, 2024 by under
Scripture: St. John 21:19-24 (NKJV)
21:19 This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
22 Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
23 Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”
24 This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
Devotion
How the Lord chooses to bless your brethren is not your concern, other than how He blesses them through you. All are to live to God’s glory in whatever estate and with whatever vocations He determines. Part of our living within His Commandments to help and befriend our neighbor in his every bodily need, and to support, protect, and increase his income, house, and name is to honor the vocations, blessings, and challenges of our fellow Christians.
If it were noted in heaven that one suffered more, or less, for Christ than another, or was so prospered as to give more for the Kingdom, it wouldn’t decrease our joy. Thus, it is of no concern now whether one glorifies God through a death like Peter’s, or a longer earthly walk like John’s. Instead, we know that “if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord…therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:8). We “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep…[being] of the same mind toward one another,” and “do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble” (Rom. 12:15-16). Jesus’ words concerning Peter and John remind us that they are His, and that in their writing we hear His voice above their own.
Collect: Merciful Lord, we beseech Thee to cast the bright beams of Thy light upon Thy Church, that it being instructed by the doctrine of the blessed Apostles, may so walk in the light of Thy truth, that it may at length attain to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord
Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the new Birth of Thine Only-Begotten Son in the flesh may set us free who are held in the old bondage under the yoke of sin; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
