eye in the sky
"He saw and believed." —John 20:8
Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. John the Evangelist. John is the author of the fourth Gospel, three letters in the New Testament, and the Book of Revelation. He is one of the twelve apostles and remained with Jesus at the foot of the cross as He was crucified. God blessed St. John with a special gift—a heavenly perspective on the plan of salvation. His Gospel especially emphasizes the divinity of Christ.
I find the following image helpful when explaining the divine viewpoint of St. John's Gospel. Picture Jesus standing in the center of a room with three doors. He is facing one door, and there are doors to His right and His left. Imagine St. Matthew standing in the door to Jesus' left, St. Mark in the doorway facing Jesus, and St. Luke in the doorway to His right. Each of these three evangelists faithfully portray Jesus from their particular vantage point. They each see a unique perspective of Jesus, and describe Jesus a bit differently from the other evangelists. Picture St. John, however, gazing down upon the Lord from a skylight in the roof. John has the divine perspective in mind throughout His Gospel.
All four evangelists are describing the same Jesus, but from a different perspective. Thus, different aspects of Jesus emerge in each Gospel. St. John looks at Jesus from the heavenly perspective of the Father. Much of John's Gospel describes Jesus' relationship with His Father. He was sent from the Father (Jn 5:36) and lives in the Father (Jn 10:38). I challenge you to read the Gospel of John during the Christmas season. Keep St. John's heavenly perspective in mind. Believe that Jesus and the Father are one (Jn 10:30).
Prayer: "My Lord and my God!" (Jn 20:28)
Promise: "We speak of the Word of Life." —1 Jn 1:1
Praise: "I have written this to you to make you realize that you possess eternal life—you who believe in the name of the Son of God" (1 Jn 5:13). Thank you, Lord, for the ministry of St. John the Evangelist.
Reference: (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 2, 2019
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