Run to Win!

A Reflection on this Friday’s Gospel (Jn 20:1a 2-8) – 27 December 2024

Today we celebrate the Feast of St John the Evangelist. Just two days ago, we began celebrating the incarnation and nativity of our Lord. It is appropriate then, that we now celebrate the victory of that incarnation, our salvation! As St John writes,

All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:3–5 NABRE)

The Light of the World has come to shine through our darkness and vanquish it forever. Today’s Gospel celebrates the resurrection, the fullness of Christ’s light upon us. Jesus is God and we can depend on His every promise. What began in the manger was completed on the cross. To this fact, the empty tomb stands witness.

When Sts. John and Peter hear from St. Mary Magdalen that Jesus’ tomb is empty, they race to the tomb. Perhaps they race because they know that Jesus’ resurrection has been accomplished (John 2:19–22). As Peter and the beloved disciple peer into the tomb and see the burial cloths, the reality and light of the resurrection flood their being. Think of the sheer joy and excitement. St John “saw and believed.” (John 20:8 NABRE) The race for His beloved Master is almost complete.

In a way, from the time Jesus called St. John to follow Him, John never stopped racing, not just running, to Jesus. St. John, likely the youngest of the Apostles, walked with Jesus across the entirety of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Jesus chooses St. John to be present at the Transfiguration. He sat next to Jesus at the Last Supper, where John’s head rested over Jesus’ heart during the meal. St. John was never far from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

John’s unfailing devotion to His Master is evident, especially during the Passion and death of our Lord. John steadfastly follows the Lord, despite the danger, wherever He leads. This is so much so that St. John is seen as the icon of the faithful Church. When others fled or denied their Master, St. John kept his place by the side of Jesus and was the only disciple to witness our Lord experiencing death on the cross. That is why Jesus bequeathed His Mother to the care of this faithful Apostle, who “from that hour took her to his own.” So, we too, the faithful disciples keep Mary close in our hearts.

Sacred Tradition declares that after the Ascension, St. John served the Lord in Jerusalem and then Ephesus. Domitian had St John thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, and is thus reckoned a martyr, though miraculously preserved from harm. Afterwards he was banished to Patmos, where he received the heavenly visions described in the Book of Revelation. He died in peace, at Ephesus, in the year 100. (Shea 506)

Consider the life and example of St John, and all the Apostles. Do we race toward Jesus in our prayer life and in the Sacraments? Or, do we approach prayer and the Sacraments as just another thing that we “have to do” on an already overburdened, “To-Do” list? Perhaps we treat our devotions, especially to prayer, like working out; it is good for me as long as I have time. Such an approach is death dealing, not life giving. Today’s Gospel challenges us to race toward Jesus with both a sense of conviction and urgency.

Look to St John. We are called to respond to Jesus with energy and enthusiasm, particularly in our times of searching for meaning. Just as Peter and the beloved disciple ran to the tomb, we too are called to run toward Jesus, embracing the transformative power of His resurrection in our daily lives.

In this St Paul gives us very sound advice,

Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:24–25 NABRE)

May God give us all the grace to race toward Jesus. May we run, not aimlessly, but run to win the crown of eternal life.

St John Pray for us!

Endnotes:

“Peter and John Running to the Tomb.” Catholic Bishops’ Conference, 22 Apr. 2021, www.cbcew.org.uk/home/events/beyond-the-cross/peter-and-john-running-to-the-tomb/.

Shea, John Gilmary. Pictorial Lives of the Saints. New York; Cincinnati; Chicago: Benziger Brothers, 1887. Print.