A Wondrous Reward

A Sermon on the Day of the Repose of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian

If I want this one to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me (Jn 21:22)

These most significant words of the Lord about the supernatural immortality of John the Theologian, spoken to the Apostle Peter, were the answer to his question concerning the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian:—and this one, what of him? — that is, if I am to be crucified and die on the cross, as You foretold, for the preaching and bearing of witness to You before the pagans and the Jews, then by what death will John die? And the Lord answers him as the righteous Judge, who has authority over life and death: if I wish him to remain alive (until My second dread coming to earth), what is that to you? You, follow after Me—that is, you are to die for My sake on the cross, just as I died for you and for the human race, while John will live until the general resurrection and judgment.

And earlier still—before His sufferings—the Lord spoke, in veiled terms, about that same immortality of John during a conversation with the disciples and the people: Truly I say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God come in power[1]. These words referred to the Apostle John the Theologian, although they were spoken in veiled terms as though about several persons, not about one. So then, John the Theologian fell asleep, but did not die; rather he remains alive to this day, and does not depart from the earth, and awaits the second dread comingof the Master to the earth[2],—although he also stands in heaven before the throne of God and ever intercedes for the Church of Christ. See how mightily, how divinely, and according to his worth the Lord has glorified, and glorifies, His beloved disciple and confidant, the guardian and provider of His Most Pure Mother, the Virgin Mary, until the end of her earthly life. The Lord raised her from the dead on the third day, and the beloved disciple He commanded to live until His second coming, when John, in the flesh, will be put to death by the servants of the Antichrist, like Elijah and Enoch, and afterwards will be raised from the dead by the word of God, and will live forever and ever. Such is the glory, such the immortality, of Christ’s beloved disciple!

For what was the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian so glorified and rewarded with such wondrous immortality? For his perfect, selfless devotion to Jesus Christ from youth to old age, from his call to apostleship in the twenty-second year of his life until the death of Christ, and thereafter for endless ages; for his perfect purity of soul and body, for his meekness and guilelessness, for his complete detachment from the swiftly passing goods of earth, and for his perfect love for his Lord—a love full of self-denial, dangers, and sufferings, but also full of blessedness in the God of glory and of countless miracles, before his falling asleep and after it. Whoever wishes to know about these miracles by which the Lord glorified him may read of them, or hear about them, in his Life.

What does the holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian teach us by his life and by his teaching?

It teaches us complete devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ, the leader of our faith and the one who brings it to completion; detachment from this brief, present life; expectation and preparation for eternal life; constant watchfulness over the state of one’s soul; unceasing repentance; every Christian virtue; renunciation of every sin that estranges and draws us away from God and from His holy covenants and promises; mutual love, mercy, patience; and the laying down of one’s life for Christ, should that be necessary.

Marvelous were John’s closeness to the Lord and his boldness toward Him. He was the beloved disciple, the friend and confidant of Christ during Christ’s earthly life. But when the Lord rose from the dead and ascended into heaven and received His pre-eternal, awe-inspiring glory, seated even in His humanity at the right hand of the Father, then especially, before all His disciples, He singled out John, appearing to him in His unapproachable Glory. Listen to how John describes the appearance to him, in the glory of heaven, of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I was in the Spirit on a Sunday, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, which said: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last… I turned to see whose voice was speaking with me; and when I had turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed in a long robe and girded about the chest with a golden belt; His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like gleaming brass, as though glowing red-hot in a furnace, and His voice like the thunder of many waters. He held in His right hand seven stars, and out of His mouth went a sword, sharp on both edges, and His face was like the sun when it shines with all its might. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. And He laid His right hand on me and said to me: do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last, and the Living One; and I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; amen. And I hold the keys of hell and of death[3]. Such was the majesty in which the Lord appeared to John during his exile on the island of Patmos; this glory is more awesome than the Taboric Theophany which John was deemed worthy to see together with Peter and James.

So then, on this apostolic feast, let us meditate upon the immortality prepared for us by the Lord, and let us prepare for it by constant repentance, cleansing, amendment, virtue, and mutual love for one another. Amen.