There is a legend handed down from the early Church about John, the beloved disciple of Jesus. Of the twelve original apostles, only John lived to a ripe old age. In his later years, not only his body but also his eyesight and his mind began to fail him. Eventually, according to the legend, John’s mind had deteriorated to the point that he could only speak five words, one sentence which he would repeat over and over. You can imagine the high regard in which the early Church must have held the last surviving apostle of Jesus. The legend says that every Lord’s Day, John would be carried into the midst of the congregation that had assembled for worship in the Church at Ephesus, where John spent the last years of his life. Total silence would fall over the congregation, even though they already knew what John was going to say. Then the old man would speak the words, “My children, love one another.” Over and over, he would repeat them until he grew tired from talking, and no one yawned or looked at his watch or gazed off into space absentmindedly. They listened as John preached his five-word sermon over and over: “My children, love one another.”
———————————————————————-
In the second century AD, a non-Christian named Aristides wrote to the Emperor Hadrian about the Christians. He said “Christians love one another. They never fail to help widows; they save orphans from those who would hurt them. If one of them has something, he gives freely to those who have nothing. If they see a stranger, Christians take him home and are as happy as though he were a real brother. They don’t consider themselves brothers in the usual sense, but brothers through the Spirit, in God. And if they hear that one of them is in jail or persecuted for professing the name of their Redeemer, they give him all he needs. This is really a new kind of person. There is something Divine in them.” No wonder the non-Christians of the first century used tell one another, “See how those Christians love one another.”
———————————————————————-
One Sunday the pastor was finishing up a series on marriage. At the end of the service he was giving out small wooden crosses to each married couple. He said, “Place this cross in the room in which you fight the most and you will be reminded of God’s commandment of love and you won’t argue as much.” One woman came up after the service and said, “You’d better give me five crosses.”
———————————————————————-
An old couple was sitting by the fireside. He looked over at her, had a romantic thought, and said, “After fifty years, I’ve found you tried and true.” The wife’s hearing wasn’t very good, so she said, “What?” He repeated, “After fifty years, I’ve found you tried and true.” “After fifty years, I’m tired of you too,” she replied.
Fr.Joseph Antony Sebastian
St. Joachim Church
21255 Hesperian Blvd Hayward, CA, USA 94541
Office Phone: 510 783 2766
************************************************************
Nota de nuestro pastor:
Hay una leyenda de la Iglesia primitiva acerca de Juan, el discípulo amado de Jesús. De los doce apóstoles originales, sólo Juan vivió a una vejez madura. En sus últimos años, no sólo su cuerpo sino también su vista y su mente comenzaron a fallarle. Finalmente, según la leyenda, la mente de Juan se había deteriorado hasta el punto que sólo podía hablar cinco palabras, una frase que repetía una y otra vez. Se pueden imaginar la alta estima en que la Iglesia primitiva le tenía al último apóstol sobreviviente de Jesús. La leyenda dice que cada día del Señor, se llevaban a Juan en medio de la congregación que se había reunido para el culto en la Iglesia en Éfeso, donde Juan pasó los últimos años de su vida. Silencio total caía sobre la congregación, a pesar de que ya sabían lo que Juan iba a decir. Entonces el anciano hablaba las palabras, “Mis hijos, ámense el uno al otro.” Una y otra vez, él repetía hasta que se cansaba de hablar, y no bostezaban, miraban su reloj, o miraban fijamente hacia el espacio distraídamente. Escuchaban a Juan quien predicaba su sermón de cinco palabras una y otra vez: “Mis hijos, ámense el uno al otro.”
——————————————————————
En el siglo II D.C., un no-cristiano llamado Aristides escribió al Emperador Hadrian sobre los Cristianos. Dijo que “los Cristianos se aman los unos a otros. Nunca dejan de ayudar a las viudas; salvan a los huérfanos de quienes les maltratan. Si uno de ellos tiene algo, él da libremente a aquellos que no tienen nada. Si ven a un extraño, los Cristianos lo llevan a casa y son tan felices como si fuera un hermano real. No se consideran hermanos en el sentido usual, sino hermanos a través del Espíritu, en Dios. Y si oyen que uno de ellos está en la cárcel o es perseguido por profesar el nombre de su Redentor, le dan todo que necesita. Esto es realmente un nuevo tipo de persona. Hay algo Divino en ellos”. No es de extrañar que los no-cristianos del primer siglo solían decir uno al otro, “Ve cómo los Cristianos se aman los unos a otros”.
———————————————————–
Un Domingo, el Pastor estaba terminando una serie sobre el matrimonio. Al final del servicio fue entregando pequeñas cruces de madera a cada pareja casada. Él dijo, “Pon esta cruz en el lugar done pelean más y te recordará sobre el mandamiento de amor de Dios, y no discutirán tanto”. Una mujer se acercó después del servicio y dijo, “Usted mejor me da cinco cruces.”
Fr.Joseph Antony Sebastian
St. Joachim Church
21255 Hesperian Blvd Hayward, CA, USA 94541
Office Phone: 510 783 2766