Sermon for the first Sunday after Christmas – St John the Evangelist: 27th December 2020

Deacon Christine Saccali

 

May I speak in the name of the living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. AMEN

Today we celebrate and give thanks to God for the life, witness and works of St John the Apostle and Evangelist on this his feast day, just two days after Christmas. I cannot actually recall this falling on a Sunday in recent years or my preaching on it. John often gets pushed out of the birthday boy celebrations but the beginning of his gospel is often used as a text on Christmas day.

 

Scholars have often debated John’s identity and authorship as regards references to him in the New Testament writings, raising questions of the books attributed to him – the Gospel of John, the three epistles and the book of Revelation. Whatever the answers to these debates may be, we can be confident that there really was a close follower of Jesus called John and that he witnessed to the truth of God in the flesh – ‘the Word became flesh’ – in the famous and eloquent prologue to the gospel. And haven’t we just celebrated that incarnation? I hope you have.

This same John, we believe whose prose is inspirational,  was a Gallilean fisherman one of the sons of Zebedee called from his nets along with his brother James. And as I was writing this I realised that this  background was amazing in itself that John is also called the theologian – not as a highfalutin description – but as someone who deals in the word of God – Logos and who is the Word but Christ himself?

From fisherman to fisher of men and crafter of words announcing the good news. That description encourages me to think that practical occupations and lowly livings can inspire incredible writers, and then I think to the birth we have just celebrated and how Jesus himself grew up in a carpenter’s workshop and to another apostle to Paul, a tentmaker by profession. For God and in God we can work with our hands, hearts and minds and multi-task. As we live out our lives we reflect the word of God – we are also sent to do just that.

This is what I think is required now as we journey through the twelve days of Christmastide and on into Epiphany in the church calendar while ringing in the New year in the secular calendar. Many will want to be rid of 2020 and to wipe it from their minds as they bin the last calendar page but it is important that we hold on to the Good News imparted by the evangelists and spread that word- tell of the Living Word – Jesus. Indeed, it is probably more crucial than ever that we reach out in love to others and that our lives, actions or words are incarnational –   bringing new life and hope through the Holy Spirit.

 

During the first lockdown in Lent, I lit a candle during services and reflection time and I decorated it with numbers 2020 – little did I realise how symbolic that would be. Now instead of making ‘gouria ‘good luck charms for the New Year as I usually do I am decorating candles with 2021 as a sign of hope and the light of Christ coming into the world.

There has not been much good news recently, has there? But remember there is no lockdown on the Holy Spirit or on mission and prayer. There is no limitation or restriction on God, his word and kingdom. There is no lockdown on friendship and witness we just have to think how we reach out to people in these times.

 

But back to John, it is clear that of the twelve closest male followers of Jesus he was part of the inner circle, along with Peter and James. The three of them were present we are told both at the Transfiguration and at Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemane before his arrest. They were witnesses to the Word. Traditionally, John has been associated with ‘the beloved disciple’ who reclined next to Jesus at the Last Supper. John clearly had a close relationship with his master and thus it was natural that he entrusted his mother to John as he was dying on the cross.

John is involved in resurrection appearances as he ran with Peter to the tomb and, seeing it empty believed. He is credited with first recognising Jesus standing on the beach in the account of the fishing expedition in the last chapter of John’s gospel. That makes sense. Do reread at least the first and last chapters of the gospel according to John, if you can. Or maybe the letters which are all about the love of God in Christ that John experienced first- hand.

John’s epistles may well have been written in Ephesus and tradition has it he was exiled to Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation. I have been fortunate enough to visit the Anglican church of St John the Evangelist in Izmir, Smyrni, when archdeaconry synod was held there in 2007. We were also lucky to have a trip to Ephesus and to see the ancient site and nearby house where Mary was said to have lived. As I was writing these words I reflected on trips taken and travel undergone and wondered how future travel will be.

My husband and I went island hopping round the Dodecanese  with the ease of youth and  as a youngish couple in 1984 and that trip included Patmos where we saw the imposing monastery of St John which is built like a fortress overlooking hora, the main town. I would love to return and see what i make of it now but realise that virtual travel or as we knew it armchair travel is what is possible at the moment. Thank goodness there is no lockdown on imagination either and memories.

Finally, despite COVID restrictions it has been a great joy to revive online the parenting group from the nursery school in Dilesi where the Anglican church, in cooperation with Aei Ferein, ran classes for pupils, teachers and parents over 5 years from 2013-2018.

 

Word, (notice that word), has spread of our work even though pupils have grown and moved on to other schools. Recently, during a regular fortnightly Skype session when parents were sharing their concern about COVID and the vaccine, we were discussing Christmas and hope in the New year, into my mind sprang the fifth verse from John 1, ‘ the light has shone in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.’ It seemed to echo what Katia, our facilitator and resident expert, had just said. I typed it into the chat box and then we translated it into Greek. It took some convincing that these were not my words but scripture! In 2015 the Queen used this same verse in her Christmas message linking it to a Chinese proverb, ‘ Don’t curse the darkness, light a candle.’  The themes of light and dark, truth overcoming falsehood , of life being victorious over death are major themes in John’s gospel.

Wherever you are and however you have managed to celebrate Christougenna this year – i genisi tou Christou- the birth of Christ and him within us and look forward to his second coming, I pray you find His divine light in the darkness and therein comfort and joy. We may not  consider ourselves expert theologians but we are all called to be witnesses to the Word made flesh and be evangelists studying the logos tou theou the Word of God and spreading the light of hope in Christ.

AMEN