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Commentary on the Gospel – December 27, 2025
Witnesses to What We Have Seen and Heard
Martyrdom means witness. Sometimes, that witness demands the sacrifice of one’s own life. But this extreme form of witness isn’t the norm.
And yet, the Christian who has recognized the presence of the Messiah in the child born in Bethlehem must always be ready to go to that extreme. The Beloved Disciple, whom tradition identifies as St. John the Evangelist, teaches us a path of radical witness that doesn’t involve shedding blood, but involves no less of a gift of one’s life.
To see, hear, and touch with one’s own hands indicates an extraordinary closeness to Christ. And we are talking about seeing, hearing, and touching the Word made flesh. The first step to giving a real, living witness is to get close to that Word—to listen to it, contemplate it, and put it into practice.
These are ways of hearing, seeing, and touching that are within reach for all of us, not just for those who lived alongside the historical Jesus. By doing this, we unite ourselves—through the tradition of the whole Church—to the very first disciples, and we participate fully in their joy.
It is the joy of the Resurrection. Like those first disciples, we hear Mary Magdalene’s testimony, we run to the tomb, and we are capable of seeing the triumph of life in the signs of death. Thanks to faith, we can touch the victory of the Resurrection over death.
And so, those of us who have seen, heard, and touched cannot help but pass it on with words and with the witness of our lives. The one giving witness today is the Beloved Disciple, whose exact identity remains a mystery. But the truth is, each of us can put ourselves in the place of the Beloved Disciple.
After all, what have we seen, heard, and touched, if not the manifestation of God’s extreme love? This love became flesh in the humanity of Christ, born in Bethlehem, gave His life on the Cross, and rose again for the salvation of all.