Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist

Image of St John from
the Book of Kells

Lectionary: 697

Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.

 S aint John's Gospel has been described as the most sacramental of the four canonical Gospels, and the most political. Through the sacraments and the gospel the faithful recognize the living presence of God in our workaday, political world. 

I think especially of his chapter 11, the reviving of Lazarus. First, we're reminded of the political situation; the Lord had roiled the Holy City in the second chapter by his one-man riot in the temple. He has enemies and is walking into serious trouble as he returns to Bethany and Jerusalem. 

Secondly, his young friend's death and funeral is a sad occasion for everyone, but quite normal. Who expects anything extraordinary or revelatory at a funeral? 

And then, no sooner has he called Lazarus out of the grave than the authorities are informed. They immediately assemble and decide... 

"... that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.”

The presence and saving work of God, which we know as word and sacrament, are greeted with lethal hatred. 

The Lord's teaching about the Eucharist is also met with a fatal rejection in the sixth chapter. But the fatal dimension falls on those who desert the Lord when he insists,

"...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.

It's often said that there is no "institution narrative" in John's Gospel, because he does not instruct his disciples during the Last Supper to take and eat his body and blood, as he does in the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But his institution is clearly described with other words and a similar command, 

If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.

Whether we are eating his flesh, drinking his blood, or washing one another's feet, we are acting in this world, living in the Lord, and doing sacraments. To belong to a sacramental church, we must be deeply committed and engaged with one another. 

We've all heard people complain about the institutional church. They'll have nothing to do with "organized religion" because: 

1. Not everyone who attends is sincere. 
2. There are many incidents of misbehavior and infidelity. 
3. There are stories of betrayal. 
4. There is much disagreement. 
5. I disagree with the Church about....

The list is endless. No one will ever run out of excuses for excusing themselves from the assembly. 

But if your church has no problems, it's not a church. It's a tyranny overseen by one person, or by one secretive committee which does not betray its internal dynamics. But you can be sure there are serious troubles within that one person. Or the problems within that committee will soon come to light. Everything hidden will come to light. 

And if you still say there are no troubles in your church, you're the problem, and they're letting you get away with it. But that won't last long. 

It's better to belong to a troubled church like that of the apostles. They squabbled, complained, questioned, denied, and betrayed; but when the Lord returned from the dead he found them together. And those who'd fled he retrieved. Because they belonged to him and he would not let them go. 

Within the church we call one another brothers and sisters because the Lord has given us to one another, without asking whether we want them to join us. I had nine brothers and sisters and I am sure my folks never asked me whether I wanted another sibling. (More often than not, they weren't asked either! They wanted the first five; the rest were pure gift.) 

That's how the sacramental church works. It's real; it's complicated, messy, unpredictable, and political. It's not often pretty; and it's always holy.