Good Friday Reading: The Apostle John

There were 12 of us-the Disciples of Jesus, the group of people who were closest to the Master. We came from many different occupations and walks of life: fishermen, a tax collector, a political fanatic-well, you know our stories.

I am John, the brother of James, and one of the fishermen Jesus called to follow him and be "fishers of men." I was surprised that he even considered us. We had quite a reputation for impetuous thinking and for making violent suggestions. Because of that, Jesus nicknamed my brother and me "the Sons of Thunder."

That was all right with me. I grew up living a hard and dangerous life fishing on the Sea of Galilee, and something about it must have rubbed off on me. No one was going to push me around, and when I decided to follow Jesus, I decided to give myself completely to him and the work he was doing. If that meant offending people by what I said, so be it. I knew what I had to do.

A "Son of Thunder" was not the only nickname by which I was known. There was another one: "The Beloved Disciple" or "The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved." Actually, there were three of us in Jesus' inner circle: Peter, my brother James, and myself. Jesus had us go with him when he met Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. We were the three who went the farthest into the Garden of Gethsemane with him when he prayed before he was arrested. Somehow he saw something in us that he wanted to encourage, even though James and I used our mother to try to put ourselves very close to Jesus. Speaking on our behalf, our mother asked that James and I would sit on the right hand and left hand of Jesus when he established his kingdom. Jesus wisely told us that that was not his decision to make.

But even among the three of us in the inner circle, there seemed to be a special relationship between Jesus and me. I don't say that with pride as though I deserved to be set apart from the other 11 Disciples; I say it with gratitude and humility. I don't mean to imply that Jesus didn't love the others, but that I was close to Jesus in a way that the others were not. Why? I don't know. I just was.

"Son of Thunder." "Beloved Disciple." But there was something else that happened-and it happened while Jesus was hanging on the cross. All of us Disciples had deserted Jesus and run away when he was arrested. "Son of Thunder" or not, I was frightened, worried about what might happen to us. I'm ashamed to admit it. We had seen Jesus calm the sea and heal people and raise people from the dead and feed multitudes. Why should we have worried when he was arrested? Did we think he had suddenly lost his power? But we fled.

The next day, however, when Jesus was crucified, I knew I had to be there. What kind of beloved disciple would I be if I hadn't shown up? So I was there when he said the most amazing thing. Looking at me, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." Looking at his mother, he said to me, "Here is your mother."

I couldn't believe it! Jesus asking me to care for his mother. Me, a Son of Thunder, taking on that kind of responsibility. Why? Why me? I thought about it and decided that what Jesus wanted more than anything else was a man of passion, a man who followed through on his commitments, a man who would do everything in his power to carry out a responsibility.

I believe that's why he called me to be a fisher of men.
I believe that's why he put me in his inner circle.
I believe that's why he asked me to take care of his mother.
He knew that passionate people are the ones who make a difference in the world.

I believe Jesus still looks for and calls that kind of person.

What is your passion?

Sources: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament of the Holy Bible