Remembering the Beloved Disciple: "We Love His Love for the Lovely One"

.

This past Saturday, December 27, was not only the third day of Christmas but also the feast of St. John, the "beloved disciple" of Jesus.

Thanks to Kittredge Cherry and a post on her always insightful Jesus in Love blog, I've been made aware of the beautiful lyrics to a fiddle dance that commemorates John and the special love he shared with Jesus. These lyrics work as a stand alone poem, and were originally posted online here by an individual known only as "Joe."

The Third Dance of Christmas:

A Fiddle Dance for St. John's Day

Sweet Saint John was a dancer
on the shore of old Capernaum
a lovely boy not fit for fishing,
carpentry, or marrying.
They tell he left his empty boat
for the sake of the bold young fellow
who looked at him one April morn
and said, my love, come follow.

Saint John said yes, he left his nets
and the rest of life seemed hollow,
compared to the love of the wild-eyed boy
who said, my love, come follow.

John saw the hungry eat their fill,
saw the sinful girl forgiven.
He saw the hardened hearts of men
flow freely with compassion.
He saw the one he loved so dear,
betrayed and shamed and tortured,
by those who could not hear the word
of the awful grace he offered.

Saint John said yes, he left his nets
and the rest of life seemed hollow
compared to the love of the wild-eyed boy
who said, my love, come follow.

On the twenty-seventh of December
we remember his devotion,
his courage, and his faithfulness,
and his delicate emotion.
Rare visions he was said to have,
deep mysteries he expounded.
But we love his love for the lovely one
whose love sweet John astounded.

Saint John said yes, he left his nets
and the rest of life seemed hollow
compared to the love of the wild-eyed god
who said, my love, come follow,
compared to the love of the lovely one
who says, my love, come follow.

Related Off-site Links:
Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same-Sex Love: An Interview with Author Will Roscoe – Kittredge Cherry (Jesus in Live Blog, June 5, 2013).
Was Jesus Gay? Probably – Paul Oestreicher (The Guardian, April 20, 2012).
Saint John: The Man Jesus Loved? – Kittredge Cherry (Jesus in Love Blog, December 27, 2010).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Terence Weldon on the "Disciple Jesus Loved" as a Role Model for LGBT Christians
• Edward Sellner on the Archetype of the Double and Male Eros, Friendships and Mentoring
• The Sexuality of Jesus
• Why Jesus is My Man
• Jesus Was a Sissy
• Jesus and the Centurion (Part 1)
• Jesus and the Centurion (Part 2)
• Jesus and Homosexuality

Image: "Jesus and John at the Last Supper" (1625-1626) by Valentin de Boulogne.