VATICAN CITY, JULY 5, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation
of Benedict XVI's address at today's general audience, which he
dedicated to the figure of John, son of Zebedee.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
We dedicate today's meeting to recall another very important
member of the apostolic college: John, son of Zebedee, and
brother of James. His name, typically Hebrew, means "the Lord
has given his grace." He was mending the nets on the shores of
the Sea of Galilee, when Jesus called him together with his
brother (cf. Matthew 4:21; Mark 1:19).
John is always part of the restricted group that Jesus took with
him on certain occasions.
He is beside Peter and James when Jesus, in Capernaum, enters
Peter's house to cure his mother-in-law (cf. Mark 1:29); with
the other two he follows the Master into the house of the chief
of the synagogue, Jarius, whose daughter would be called back to
life (cf. Mark 5:37); he follows him when he goes up to the
mountain to be transfigured (cf. Mark 9:2); he is by his side on
the Mount of Olives when before the imposing Temple of Jerusalem
he delivers the discourse on the end of the city and of the
world (cf. Mark 13:3); and, finally, he is close to him when in
the Garden of Gethsemane he withdraws to pray to the Father
before the Passion (cf. Mark 14:33). Shortly before Passover,
when Jesus chose two disciples to prepare the room for the
Supper, he entrusts this task to him and to Peter (cf. Luke
22:8).
This prominent position in the group of the Twelve makes
comprehensible, in a certain sense, the initiative that his
mother took one day: she approached Jesus to request that her
two sons, John and James, might sit one at his right hand and
one at his left in the Kingdom (cf. Matthew 20:20-21). As we
know, Jesus replied posing a question in turn: he asked if they
were prepared to drink the chalice that he himself was about to
drink (cf. Matthew 20:28).
With these words, he wanted to open the eyes of the two
disciples, introduce them to knowledge of the mystery of his
person, sketch the future call to be his witnesses to the
supreme test of blood. Shortly after, in fact, Jesus clarified
that he had not come to be served but to serve and to give his
life as a ransom for many (cf. Matthew 20:28).
In the days following the Resurrection, we find the sons of
Zebedee fishing together with Peter and others on a night
without results. After the Risen One's intervention, came the
miraculous catch: "the disciple whom Jesus loved" would be the
first to recognize the Lord and to point him out to Peter (cf.
John 21:1-13).
Within the Church of Jerusalem, John occupied an important place
in the leadership of the first group of Christians. Paul, in
fact, places him among those he called the "columns" of that
community (cf. Galatians 2:9).
Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, presents him next to Peter
while they go to the Temple to pray (Acts 3:1-4,11) or when they
appear before the Sanhedrin to witness their faith in Jesus
Christ (cf. Acts 4:13,19). Together with Peter he receives the
invitation of the Church of Jerusalem to confirm those who
accepted the Gospel in Samaria, praying over them so that they
would receive the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 8:14-15).
In particular, we must recall what he said, together with Peter,
before the Sanhedrin, during the trial: "we cannot but speak of
what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). This frankness in
confessing their own faith remains as an example and a warning
for all of us so that we will be ready to declare with
determination our unbreakable adherence to Christ, putting our
faith before any human calculation or interest.
According to tradition, John is "the beloved disciple," who in
the fourth Gospel places his head on the Master's breast during
the Last Supper (cf. John 13:21), is found at the foot of the
cross close to the Mother of Jesus (cf. John 19:25) and,
finally, is witness both of the empty tomb as well as the
presence of the Risen One (cf. John 20:2, 21:7).
We know that this identification today is disputed by experts,
as some of them see in him the prototype of the disciple of
Jesus. Leaving the exegetes to clarify the situation, we content
ourselves with drawing an important lesson for our lives: the
Lord wishes to make of each one of us a disciple who lives in
personal friendship with him.
To do this, it is not enough to follow and listen to him
exteriorly; it is also necessary to live with him and as him.
This is only possible in the context of a relationship of great
familiarity, penetrated by the warmth of total trust. It is what
happens between friends: this is why Jesus said one day:
"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life
for his friends … No longer do I call you servants, for the
servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have
called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I
have made known to you" (John 15:13,15).
In the apocryphal "Acts of John" the apostle, is not presented
as founder of Churches, not even as guide of a constituted
community, but as a constant itinerant, a communicator of the
faith in the encounter with "souls capable of hoping and of
being saved" (18:10, 23:8). He is impelled by the paradoxical
desire to make the invisible seen. In fact, the Eastern Church
calls him simply "the Theologian," that is, the one who is able
to speak in terms accessible to divine things, revealing an
arcane access to God through adherence to Jesus.
Devotion to John the Apostle was affirmed first in the city of
Ephesus where, according to an ancient tradition, he lived for a
long time, dying at an extraordinarily advanced age, under the
emperor Trajan. In Ephesus, emperor Justinian, in the 6th
century, built a great basilica in his honor, of which there
still remain impressive ruins.
Precisely in the East he enjoyed and enjoys great veneration. In
the Byzantine icons he is represented as very old and in intense
contemplation, with the attitude of one who invites to silence.
In fact, without proper recollection, it is not possible to
approach the supreme mystery of God and his revelation. This
explains why, years ago, the Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople, Athenagoras, whom Pope Paul VI embraced at a
memorable meeting, affirmed: "John is at the origin of our
loftiest spirituality. Like him, the 'silent ones' know that
mysterious exchange of hearts, invoke the presence of John and
their hearts are inflamed" (O. Clement, "Dialoghi con Atenagora,"
Turin, 1972, p. 159).
May the Lord help us to place ourselves in the school of John to
learn the great lesson of love so that we feel loved by Christ
"to the end" (John 13:1) and spend our lives for him.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[At the end of the audience, the Holy Father read the following
summary in English:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Continuing our weekly catechesis on the Church's apostolic
ministry, we now consider the apostle John, the son of Zebedee
and the brother of James.
Among the apostles, John appears with Peter and James as part of
a smaller group which accompanies Jesus at significant moments
of his public ministry. After the Resurrection, it was John who
recognized the risen Lord standing on the shore and pointed him
out to Peter. Saint Paul refers to him as one of the "columns"
of the early Church in Jerusalem.
According to tradition, John is "the beloved disciple" mentioned
in the fourth Gospel, who reclined next to the Lord at the Last
Supper, stood with Mary at the foot of the cross and beheld the
empty tomb. As such, he is a model for all believers, who are
called to establish a deep personal friendship with Jesus. In
the Eastern tradition, John is venerated as "the Theologian" for
the depth of his religious and contemplative vision. By his
prayers, may we more fully experience the mystery of the
Father's love revealed in Christ, and respond by offering our
lives ever more generously to him.
[The Pope then greeted pilgrims in several languages. In
English, he said:]
My prayerful greetings go to the Sisters of the Holy Family of
Nazareth assembled in Rome for their General Chapter. I also
greet the members of the pilgrimage "in the footsteps of Saint
Columban," and the School Sisters of Notre Dame celebrating
their Silver Jubilee. Upon all the English-speaking visitors
present at today's audience, especially the pilgrims from
England, Ireland, Malta, New Zealand, Indonesia, Canada and the
United States, I invoke God's blessings of joy and peace.
