Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052612.cfm

It is this disciple who testifies to these things

and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true.
There are also many other things that Jesus did,
but if these were to be described individually,
I do not think the whole world would contain the books
that would be written.

Saint John’s first ending of the gospel was similar to the above:

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may [come to] believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

Chapter 21 was added by a later writer and is considered canonical; that is, authentically scripture. The hyperbole – that the whole world might not contain all the stories of Jesus –- may be endearing but not something Saint John would have written. But poetic souls will always wax eloquent about the works of God:  

Rabbi Eliezer wrote: “If all the seas were ink, all the reeds were quills, heaven and earth were scrolls, and every person a scribe, they could still never write down what I learned from the Torah.”

Nevertheless, I prefer Saint John's first ending, “…that you may come to believe."


Story tellers since the unknown author of Chapter 21 to today’s novelist (Dan Brown, Anne Rice, et alii) have always wanted to fill in the missing gaps in the story of Jesus. I also plead guilty to the crime. Many nations tell stories of the child Jesus growing up in their land but everyone knows he grew up in Ireland.

Some far-left and far-right theologians also attempt to rewrite the scriptures, adding what Jesus should have said about women priests, gay rights and so forth. Fortunately the Holy Spirit directed us to limit the Bible to 72 books, the gospels to four, and to add nothing that was not written during the “apostolic age”. There is more than enough material there to guide the Church until Jesus’ second coming.

We know his testimony is true. I have often reflected on the importance of our Apostolic Tradition; it is good also to reflect on the beauty, wisdom and healing power of the Gospels, and John in particular. The second century Church Father Origen said of the Fourth Gospel, “A mouse could wade across it; an elephant could drown in it.”

In some ways John reads like the morning newspaper. Its stories of the woman at the well, the healing of the blind and lame men and the raising of Lazarus seem simple and straightforward – until you reflect on them and hear their resonances. They grab our curiosity, stagger us in wonder and hurl us into prayer. 


Jesus’ confidence is divine even as his charm appeals to our human nature. In the text the character of Jesus instructs both disciples and opponents – who are often only straw men created to illustrate a point – even as the Son of God leads you and me into contemplation. If the one dimensional disciples on the page cannot imagine the sacramental depth of his teachings, it yawns before us like a bottomless canyon.

As we finish the Lent/Easter Season tomorrow, I feel grateful for John and his presence throughout these ninety days. I look forward to swimming in the sea of his gospel again as Lent returns next February 13.