The Feast of St. John the Evangelist

The Feast of St. John was celebrated yesterday in our Church.

I took this picture one especially beautiful afternoon in our Parish with the sun hitting the above Icon just right. Somewhat interestingly, St. John, the patron saint of our congregation, is depicted with a halo in this Icon.

Typically, at least in my limited understanding, the Apostles are only depicted with halos in Icons that occur chronologically after the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is true of Icons in our Parish that depict the life of Christ. So, in the Icon depicting the Transfiguration, Peter, James and John are shown without the halo. This is the same in the Icons of Palm Sunday and Christ's Ascension, the only other two Icons in the Church with the Apostles present (other than Pentecost, where all 12 have halos).

I suppose I should note in passing that in Orthodox Christian Iconography, the halo represents the special presence of God within and without the person. For this reason, the Mother of the Lord, who is depicted on the left here, is always shown with a halo. For not only did she carry God within her for 9 months, her entire life manifested the presence of God in such a way that it was as if He never came out.

So why the halo for St. John here? I can't say for certain without asking the Iconographer. It may be because he is the patron saint of our church, or it may be simply a stylistic decision. Nevertheless, I've become content with my own explanation.

Quite simply, he was there.

At this point all of the other Apostles are in hiding. Peter is in active denial and Judas has killed himself, but St. John is there. Of all the 12, only this one was there to witness the agony and death of our Lord upon the Cross. You can never underestimate the value of presence, most especially presence born of love.

So, we would all do well to follow after his example. When those we love are at their lowest, though our mouths are stopped and unable to express even a token of condolence, nevertheless, our presence speaks the perfect word.

This one who was there, of all the writers in the Bible, was never short for the perfect word. Indeed, his words tell us of the Perfect Word made present among us, as he beheld with his own eyes. Still, though possessed of great eloquence, the Apostle John wrote simply near the end of his life, "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

This one teaches that words are truest not when they are spoken, but when they are lived; not when they are heard, but when they take flesh.

Here, St. John stands before the Lord, probably with his life at risk, for love of the one enduring such pain. The light of God shines on him and from him at this moment, as it does for all when we stand with those we love in times of trouble.

To all of you who have stood by for us, whether in presence, word, or prayer, words fail to capture our gratitude. Our hope is that we may someday give flesh to the unspoken eloquence that your actions have planted within us.

May the Word who took flesh, who shines especially in the life and words of the Apostle John, grant you mercy and peace.

VI