December 27, 2019 ST. JOHN, APOSTLE, EVANGELIST

1 John 1:1-4

Psalm 97

John 20:1, 2-8

…and he saw and believed.  John 20:8

Lord, Mary Magdalene ran when she saw the empty tomb.  John and Peter ran to see for themselves.  Mary believed your body had been stolen.  John believed you had risen from the dead.  The empty tomb came as a shock to everyone because people don’t rise from death.  Resurrection didn’t make sense.  When we are experiencing an “empty tomb” time in our lives we can panic and believe the worst.  We can run in fear and become very troubled.  We can also choose to believe that you aren’t dead but risen and still with us.  John had faith in your promises and he trusted you would fulfill them.   Faith is what gets us from fear of losing you to confidence that you haven’t gone anywhere.  Lord Jesus, with the grace of the Holy Spirit I can see and believe in the new possibilities and life that you have provided me.  This is the hope grounding the life of a disciple.  It is also, by John’s own words, a way of being that we will make our joy complete.  May I, like St. John, see and believe in your presence in every “empty tomb” of my life.  Amen.