Here is a translation of the Holy Father's catechesis at the General Audience today dedicated to the apostle "John, the son of Zebedee".
Dear brothers and sisters!
We dedicate today’s meeting to remembering another vrey important member of the apostolic college: John, son of Zebedee and brother of James. His name, typically Hebrew, means “the Lord has given grace”. He was setting out his nets along the shore of the lake Tiberiade when Jesus called him along with his brother (cfr Mt 4,21; Mk 1,19).
John was always part of the small group that Jesus took with him on certain occasions.
He was with Peter and James when Jesus, at Capharnaum, entered Peter’s house to heal his mother-in-law (cfr Mk 1,29); with the other two, he followed the Master into the house of Jairus, whose daughter Jesus would call back to life(cfr Mk 5,37); he followed Jesus when he went up the mountain at the Transfiguration (cfr Mk 9,2); he was near Jesus on the Mount of Olives when, facing the imposing Temple of Jerusalem, Jesus pronounced the discourse on the end of the city and the world(cfr Mk 13,3); and finally, he was nearby when, in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus set himself apart to pray before the Passion (cfr Mk 14,33). A little before Passover, when Jesus chose two disciples to prepare the room for the Supper, He gave this task to John and Peter (cfr Lk 22,8).
This position of importance among the Twelve makes somewhat understandable the initative taken one day by his mother: she came to Jesus to ask Him if her two children, John and James, could sit beside Him, one on the right and one on the left, in His Kingdom (cfr Mt 20,20-21).
As we know, Jesus replied by asking a question in turn: he asked if they would be willing to drink from the same chalice from which he was about to drink (cfr Mt 20,22).
The intention behind those words was to open the eyes of the two disciples, to introduce them to an awareness of the mystery of His person, and to foreshadow to them a future in which they would be called to be witnesses for Him up to the supreme sacrfice of shedding their own blood.
A little later, in fact, Jesus specified that He had come not to be served but to serve and to give his own life for the many (cfr Mt 20,28). In the days following the Resurrection, we find “the sons of Zebedee” together with Peter and some other disciples in an unproductive night of fishing, which was then followed by the miraculous catch at the intervention of the Risen One. It was “the disciple Jesus loved” who would first recognize “the Lord” and point Him out to Peter (cfr Jn 21,1-13).
Within the Church of Jerusalem, John occupied an important position in leading the first Christian assemblies. Paul lists him among those that he called the “pillars” of that community (cfr Gal 2,9). Luke in the Acts presents John along with Peter as they go to the Temple to pray (cfr Acts 3,1-4,11) or appeasr before the Sanhedrin to testify to their faith in Jesus Christ (cfr Acts 4,13,19).
Together with Peter, he would be sent by the Church of Jerusalem to confirm those in Samaria who had accepted the Gospel, to pray over them that they might receive the Holy Spirit (cfr Acts 8,14-15).
In particular, the Acts recall what he, along with Peter, told the Sanhedrin which was questioning them: “We cannot keep quiet about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4,20).
This directness in confessing his faith remains an example and a lesson to all of us to be always ready to declare our unshakable adherence to Christ, placing our faith ahead of any human interest or calculation.
According to tradition, John was the “favorite disciple”, who in the Fourth Gospel, lays his head on the breast of the Master during the Last Supper (cfr Jn 13,21), who would be at the foot of the Cross together with the Mother of Jesus (cfr Jn 19,25), and finally, who would be a witness to both the empty tomb and the presence of the Risen One (cfr Jn 20,2; 21,7).
We know that this identification is being debated today by scholars, some of whom see in him simply the prototype of a disciple of Jesus. Leaving the exegetes to sort that out, let us be content with gleaning from John an important lesson for our life: the Lord wants to make of each of us a disciple who lives a personal friendship with Him.
To realize this, it is not enough to follow Him and listen to Him exteriorly; it is also necessary to live with Him and like Him. This is possible only in the context of a relationship of great familiarity, pervaded with the warmth of total confidence – such as that which exists between friends.
Thus, Jesus said one day: “No man can have greater love than to give his life for his friends… I do not call you servants any more, because a servant does not know what his master does; but I call you friends because all that I have heard from my Father, I have made known to you” (Jn 15,13,15).
In the apocryphal Acts of John the Apostle, he is presented not as a founder of the Church nor even as a guide of the newly-founded Christian community, but as someone in continuous travelling as a communicator of the faith, meeting ”souls capable of hoping and of being saved” (18,10; 23,8), (in which)everything (he does) is motivated by the paradoxical intention of making the invisible visible.
Indeed, the Oriental Church simply calls him “the theologian”, that is, someone who is capable of speaking about the divine in accessible terms, revealing an arcane access to God through adherence to Jesus Christ.
The cult of John the Apostle started in the city of Ephesus, where according to tradition, he worked for a long time, finally dying in extreme old age during the reign of the emperor Trajan.
In Ephesus, the emperor Justinian, during the 6th century, ordered the construction of a great basilica in honor of John, of which the imposing ruins still remain.
In the East, John enjoyed and continues to enjoy great veneration, In Byzantine iconography, he is often represented as a very old man – since according to tradition he died during Trajan’s reign – and in intense contemplation, almost in an attitude that invites silence.
In effect, without adequate meditation, it is not possible to approach the supreme mystery of God and His revelation. This explains why several years ago, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Athenagoras, whom Paul VI embraced in a memorable encounter, had this to say: “John is at the origin of our highest spirituality. Like him, the ‘silent ones’ know that mysterious exchange between hearts - they invoke the presence of John and their hearts are inflamed” (O. Clement,
Dialogues with Athenagoras, Torino 1972, p. 159).
May the Lord help us place ourselves under John’s tutelage to learn the great lesson of love and feel loved by Christ “up to the very end” (Jn 13,1) and to spend our lives for Him.
Later, he said this 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.
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 Jubilees.
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.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 06/07/2006 14.58]