The Gospel for the Feast of St. John the Apostle (December 28, 2004)
John 21:19-24
In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, ‘Follow me.’ Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them—the one who had leant back close to his chest at the supper and had said to him, ‘Lord, who is it that will betray you?’ Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘What about him, Lord?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.’ The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, ‘He will not die,’ but, ‘If I want him to stay behind till I come.’ This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true. -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
The author(s) of the Gospel attributed to John here make a particularly Johanine assertion: that Peter is the one who will follow -- and that the author(s) is/are the one(s) who will write it down, witness it for the rest of us.
A Reflection
This brief text follows immediately Jesus's breakfast cookout by the lake after his resurrection, and is the last appearance in this gospel. Peter has just been reminded that it is Peter's task to "feed my sheep."
I cannot imagine being the recipient of such an instruction from the Christ. The account ends in the same transitional way that Genesis begins. John trails off into its ending, while Genesis fades into its beginning.
And what this points out to me, more than anything else, is that our knowledge of Him is so meager. The entire gospel attributed to Mark can be read aloud in less than an hour -- an hour and a half if dramatic pauses are included. That gospel, with a few additions by Luke's and Matthew's authors, represents essentially all we know as facts (and some opinions) about Jesus, who was about 33 years old at his crucifixion, and the veteran of three hard years of vigorous ministry prior to that.
I was chatting with a friend last night about "authority" in the Church. His particular brand of church has decided that only the pastors may interpret scripture. Anyone who has a question is to give it over to one of the 18 (yes, eighteen) paid pastors, and the question will be given an authoritative answer, he was told.
In our discussion, I shared with him that discernment shifts over time with deeper understanding, and that the concept of the definitive answer to a bible-based question left me quite cold. As I think about it now, it is chilling to think that any group of men can decide that they alone have the sole authority to interpret scripture.
Of course, that's what Jesus got all upset about with some of the scribes and the Pharisees, wasn't it? Go figure.
The Collect
Shed upon your Church, O Lord, the brightness of your light; that we, being illumined by the teaching of your apostle and evangelist John, may so walk in the light of your truth, that at length we may attain to the fullness of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
6:01:40 PM 
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