Third Day of Christmas,
December 27, 2009
The Lord be with you
On the Liturgical Calendar used in the LCMS, today is set aside to remember St. John. He was a son of Zebedee and brother of James the elder (whose festival/feast day is July 25). John was among the first disciples to be called by Jesus (Matthew 4:18-22) and became known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” as he refers to himself in the Gospel that bears his name
(e.g., John 21:20). Of the Twelve, John alone did not forsake Jesus in the hours of His suffering and death. With the faithful women, he stood at the cross, where our Lord made him the guardian of His mother. After Pentecost, John spent his ministry in Jerusalem and at Ephesus, where tradition says he was bishop. He wrote the fourth Gospel, the three Epistles that bear his name, and the Book of Revelation. Especially memorable in his Gospel are the account of the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12), the “Gospel in a nutshell” (John 3:16), Jesus encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-43), Jesus’ saying about the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18), the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11), and Jesus’ encounter with Mary Magdalene on Easter morning (John 20:11-18). According to tradition, John was banished to the island of Patmos (off the coast of Asia Minor) by the Roman emperor Domitian. John lived to a very old age, surviving all the apostles, and died at Ephesus around 100 AD. He is also called St. John the Theologian and the Icon on this post has this title.Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert
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