It is 27th December 2018. We celebrate the Feast of St John the Apostle and Evangelist. A beloved disciple of the Lord, (Jn.21:20) the author of a Gospel and three epistles and the Book of Revelation. The Lord Jesus could trust him so much to leave His Mother in his custody. The readings are from 1John 1:1-4; and the Gospel from John 20:2-8. The divinity of the Lord needs to be experienced in the humanity of the historical Jesus. Love never happens to the one who cannot encounter truth in the heart. Love is much deeper than emotion. Love is the only reliable expression that cannot be misled by passion and lust. Love is the spark of the heart and burns all through as a flame and sets our hope for each other on fire. Love just does not grow but it pervades. Love is more than a feeling rather a genuine acknowledgement of the other without any additions and omissions. People who are stuck with lust never experience the depth of love. Selfish person and short-sighted persons do not have the power to transmit true love. We have an Apostle of love in the name of St. John. There is no one ever lived, preached and spread love like that of St. John. Personal experiences and encounter with the person open the doors of our being to experience authentic love in others. The easiest way to Heaven is loving others as they are and allowing them to love others as they wish. In the first reading, St. John testifies that the personal encounter with Jesus is the requirement to embrace and unpack the truth. As we believe in the Incarnation of Jesus as man and God, so we begin experience the great truth about Jesus in His suffering, death and resurrection. Love does not need a proof and examples. Love is itself the proof for its existence. Love needs to be tasted, experienced, expressed and expounded every part of our lives. It is a genuine and truthful experience between persons of non-judgemental and nondominated mind sets. Our joy is completed only in loving the Lord. We too are invited to love Jesus and to experience Jesus. Unless we experience Him personally, we cannot proclaim. Yes, now during the Christmas time, Jesus is more visible and near to our hearts than ever. Jesus waits for our coming to meet Him personally. John wrote the first letter before being exiled into the island of Patmos, by the time Jerusalem was destroyed and the Christians were scattered and persecuted. This letter was addressed to those who have lacked commitment to Christ, to strengthen their faith, beware of the mentality of conforming to the worldly expectations, and to guard from the false prophets. John invites us also to come to the light of the world and the Word of life that Jesus himself. John assures us all that he is the witness for the light and the Word that made flesh among us. Our encounter with Jesus is through the Word of God, with the unity and peace of heart and mind on a daily basis. Our relationship with Christ Jesus must include the social concerns and spiritual interactions with one another. The responsorial Psalm praises, “Rejoice in the Lord, you just.” (Ps.97:12). The Gospel narrates the experience of the empty tomb by the Apostles Peter and John. Love is the only proof we need to strengthen our faith in Jesus. May the Lord bless all of us to have a heart of love that accommodates and assimilates the power to love the other. May you have a good day. God bless you.

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