Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, as well as the day of memory of the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, the favourite disciple of our Saviour, author of the fourth Gospel and three Catholic Epistles, and the Apocalypse!

Today in the second Gospel reading we heard some information about the apostle John. Today’s excerpt is somewhat unusual because it is composed of two separate parts. In the first, from the 20th chapter of St. John’s Gospel, we hear about how John stood by the Cross of Jesus Christ, and in the second part, which consists of the concluding verses from the Gospel of John, we read that that same person, i. e. the beloved disciple John the Theologian, who was by Christ throughout His earthly ministry, was an eyewitness of everything that transpired, and therefore everything that he wrote is truthful.

These closing words of the Gospel according to John are, most likely, the words not of the author, but of his disciple or even disciples. Perhaps these are the words of the person who physically wrote down the Gospel, for usually authors living in the antique world did not write themselves, but dictated their text to another person (a professional scribe) who in turn wrote down what he heard. Throughout the whole Gospel, John writes about himself in the third person singular, but here, in the final verses, we see the plural tense (“we know that his testimony is true…”) and then again the singular, but first person (“I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books…”). This is important for us, because we hear not only from the author that everything that was written truly took place, but also the endorsement of someone else. One can also add that the witnesses to the truth of the Gospel are not simply people, journalists, politicians, or historians, but saints! Most likely their word is more trustworthy than the word of others.

The modern world is filled to overflowing with various information and different news. There is so much information that if it were all printed, probably the whole world could not contain it all. This tsunami of news and information is instantly spread throughout the world through the internet. To wade through this wave is practically impossible; therefore each person picks for himself that which is closest to his heart, trusts this source, and discards what is left, hoping in such a manner to stay afloat. More and more often people are calling that which they don’t like ‘fake news.’ We, citizens of the 21st century who are so attached to our phones, are all tied to this phenomenon to a greater or lesser extent.

Today, let’s remember that the only truly truthful source of news and information is Holy Scripture, which was written by holy people who were also, as is the case with John the Theologian, eyewitnesses. The Church Fathers truthfully explain to us how to properly understand the Scriptures. They were not contemporaries of Christ, but, like the anonymous scribe and author of the last verses of the Gospel of John, they can be called disciples of the apostles and also saints. Their writings can also be trusted. Therefore, today let’s try to read less of that which may not completely reflect the truth and instead place into our hands the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers so as to immerse ourselves in this wonderful world of God’s truth!

priest Alexis