Shirin McArthur

Dear friend,

In the liturgical calendar today, we remember St. John the Evangelist. This saint holds a special place in my heart because I met Henry, my husband, at the Monastery of the Society of St. John the Evangelist. Henry and I became members of the Fellowship of St. John, their version of third-order affiliation. We were even married in that Monastery, as part of a Trinity Sunday liturgy—a very high honor.

Jesus honored John, and seems to have loved him greatly. John reclined closest to Jesus at the Last Supper. (In Roman times, people reclined to eat, rather than sitting; I find it hard to imagine what that did to the digestive process, especially on feast days!) Jesus entrusted his mother, Mary, to the care of John when they both stood weeping at the foot of the cross. (Next time you’re in the St. Philip’s sanctuary, spend some time with the life-sized statue of St. John at the corner of the altar rail.) Tradition states that John was the only one of the original twelve male disciples to die in his sleep (as opposed to being martyred for the faith). Those aren’t good odds; it’s become a lot less dangerous (in our part of the world, anyway!) to be a follower of Jesus! This may be part of the reason today’s gospel story made it into the Bible: early Christians were wondering if anyone would die a natural death!

The church refers to John as the Beloved Disciple because of this close relationship. We use the word beloved frequently at St. Philip’s because of our Beloved in the Desert community. I believe each of us, in our own way, is a beloved disciple. In this Christmas season, can you see yourself, and everyone around you, as beloved?

—Shirin McArthur
You can read more of my reflections on my blog.