Note: On Tuesdays and some Sundays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
They are perhaps some of the most human passages in the Gospels, the times that Peter and those sons of Zebedee are bumping up against each other. Clearly, before the coming of the Holy Spirit, there’s some tension and conflict there. Who will sit at the right hand? Who gets to the tomb first?
Who does Jesus love best?
That’s what it comes down to, doesn’t it? It’s all right for Jesus to love Peter… as long as he loves John just a little more. It’s all right 
for Jesus to get along with John… as long as he gets along with Peter just a little bit better.
The tone changes after Pentecost, as we see in today’s first lectionary reading:
We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— this life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us— we declare to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our]joy may be complete. (1 John 1-4, NRSVCE)
Whether 1 John was written by the apostle himself or one of his followers, there’s a difference in worldview. No longer is there a desire to boast or compete. Rather, these are the words of an evangelist, a follower devoted to carrying the Word to the world rather than keeping it to himself. Joy is found only when the Love is shared.
And as we prepare for the changes 2017 will bring in our lives and our world, may we remember that message. May we strive for fellowship with all, and may our every word, thought, and action inspire others to have fellowship with the Lord. May we limit the bumping up against each other as much as humanly possible, and instead share Love.
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