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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Canon Ann Easter

Good morning!

Today, December 27th, is the day that the Western church celebrates St John the Evangelist, a fisherman who became one of the disciples when he witnessed Jesus making a huge miraculous catch of fish. With his brother James, and their friend Peter, John was one of Jesus’ inner circle and is referred to as ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’. I think John was a nice man, a good and gentle man, because, from the cross, Jesus asked John to care for his mother, Mary.

And John went on to write his own account of Jesus’s life and ministry and, rather than a straightforward historical record like Matthew, Mark and Luke’s gospels, John’s gospel is rich with reflection and a profound truth.

I wonder if John sometimes wished he was more like Peter who had great presence and was very energetic and exciting and sometimes spectacularly right - though Peter did have an unfortunate habit of opening his mouth to change feet too.

But to get the church going, both types of men were needed and every type of person in between as well. I believe that each of us has a special relationship with the Divine and whether it’s our vocation to be quiet, a bit mysterious and visionary or to be loud and active, I reckon what God wants is for us simply to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.

Please help us, Lord, to use every opportunity that comes our way to bring life, love, light and liberty into this world.

Amen