Minor Festival -- Festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist

                Lutheran worship is liturgical.  While that often refers to an order of worship, it can also refer to the calendar of the Church Year.  The Church Year includes major festivals, such as Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost, etc...  Today we recognize a minor festival, the Festival of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist.

               John was the son of Zebedee and the brother of St. James.  John and James were known as the “Sons of Thunder,” which reveals their passionate nature (sometimes misguided).  John was one of the three apostles who was privileged to witness Jesus’ most intimate moments in his ministry (e.g., the raising of Jairus’ daughter, Jesus’ transfiguration, Jesus’ sufferings in Gethsemane).  John, who refers to himself as “the other disciple” or “the disciple Jesus loved” in his gospel, seemed to be Jesus’ closest friend.  This apostle wrote the final books of the New Testament (a gospel, three epistles, and Revelation).  We know that, toward the end of his life, John was exiled to the island of Patmos for his faith.  Tradition says that John was the only apostle to die of natural causes.  Whether we go to our grave peacefully or as a martyr, we would pray that our Lord keep us faithful as he did for John.