John 20:1a and 2-8

John 20:1a and 2-8

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 burial cloths 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.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, the life of the Apostle John is a testament to the power of your grace. He went from being a young “son of thunder,” ready to call down fire upon others, to an old man who repeated to his spiritual children, “love one another.” May I likewise be so transformed by your grace.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Incarnate Word: Each of the four Gospels brings out a different yet complementary facet of the mystery of Jesus Christ. Matthew highlights Jesus as the King and the New Moses. Mark draws attention to Jesus as the Suffering Messiah and Servant of the Lord. Luke presents Jesus as the Universal and Merciful Savior. John opens his Gospel with a contemplation of Jesus as the Word of God. The Word of God, John teaches us, was eternally begotten by God the Father. All things were created through God’s Word. For centuries, the Word of God was present in the world among the chosen people of God. Some rejected him and some accepted him and were given power to become children of God. But, in the fullness of time, the Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us. The Word has brought us life, light, sonship, grace, and truth. Through his Ascension in heaven, the Word has returned to the Father and sent us the Holy Spirit to guide the Church into all truth.

2. The Eucharistic Bread: John’s Gospel is unique insofar as it presents Jesus as the Bread of Life (John 6:35-58). “The whole context of Jesus’ bread of life discourse is centered on the Jewish hopes for the coming of a new Moses and the return of manna from heaven” (Pitre, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, 98). Moses once fed the Israelites with manna in the desert, and Jesus now feeds the crowds with bread. When Jesus fed the crowds, they recognized him as the Messiah and wanted to take him by force and make him king (John 6:15). The crowds didn’t just want manna for forty years, but asked for this bread always (John 6:34). In response, Jesus launched into the bread of life discourse. Jesus spoke of his heavenly origin and the importance of believing in him, but then shifts to the importance of eating his flesh: John’s Gospel teaches us that we need to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus to have eternal life. “He who eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:58). Whoever eats the new manna of the Eucharist will be raised up “on the last day” (John 6:54).

3. The Divine Bridegroom: John’s Gospel also frequently presents Jesus as the divine bridegroom. According to John’s Gospel, the first sign Jesus performed was turning water into wine at a Jewish wedding. “Before Jesus displayed his wisdom as a teacher, before he exercised his authority as an exorcist, and before he manifested his power as a healer, the first thing he did was perform a miracle in which he, though unmarried, deliberately acted like a Jewish bridegroom by providing wine for a wedding” (Pitre, Jesus the Bridegroom, 35). When Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, it symbolizes the encounter between the Bridegroom Messiah and his sinful and broken bride. The five husbands of the Samaritan woman represent Israel’s idolatry and the mixture of Israel with the five pagan nations introduced by the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:24-41). Jesus the Bridegroom offers his unfaithful bride forgiveness and the water that gives eternal life. And, on the Cross, Jesus pours forth from his side sacramental gifts for his bride, the Church. The water represents the Sacrament of Baptism, which cleanses his bride, and the Spirit that sanctifies and guides Jesus’ bride. The blood signifies the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which nourishes his bride and unites her to himself in communion.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, Word of God and Divine Bridegroom, I desire, above all things, the eternal life you offer. Bring the gift of your grace within me to its consummation in glory.

Living the Word of God: Can I spend time today reading, meditating on, and contemplating the Gospel of John?