In the beginning was the Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'" And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

- John 1:1-18

This week Lent begins. In the Eastern Church, the first day of Lent is today. For the Western Church, Lent begins on Wednesday, which is called Ash Wednesday. The two different approaches are interesting: in the Greek tradition, the beginning of Lent is a time of celebration. In the lectionary, we have just finished going through the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew's Gospel, in preparation for Lent. Today we begin readings from the Gospel of John.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. "In the beginning" recalls to us the first words of Genesis and its story of creation. My study bible points out that these words complete our understanding of creation, giving us a real "beginning." But "the beginning" by itself is misleading, because the Word "was" with God. Our sense of time is immediately juggled to include the understanding of the eternal, a process of creation unlike the "creation" we understand. The Word, Logos, signifies "wisdom" and "reason" as well as "word." (In the Greek, my study bible points out, logikos is "creation," participating in the Divine Word.) John opens His Gospel by teaching us of the divinity of the Word, His co-existence with God and co-equal and co-eternal nature. He is co-Creator, "without Him nothing was made that was made."

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. If I could personally sum up my own perspective on John's Gospel, these words would fill it. His life is the light of men - His life is life abundantly for all of us, each of us; it is life itself -- and it is the light for us as well. My study bible says that this light is the same light seen by Moses in the burning bush (Ex. 3:2); Isaiah saw it in his heavenly vision (Is. 6:1-5); and Peter, James and John saw it on the Mount of Transfiguration. The powerful words here, so contained in short sentences, also tell us of the nature of that light, and of the "evil" or darkness into which it shines. The darkness can neither understand it ("take it in") nor can it overcome it. It is a powerful statement of the nature of Christ's work in the world, as it is ongoing, through grace, and of our own blindness to the brilliant light that may be as close as a breath.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. While the first verses in today's reading teach us of the divine and eternal nature of Christ and the inseparability of Logos from God the Trinity, these verses teach us about His life in the flesh, as incarnate God and Son. We begin with John the Baptist, who came ("sent by God") to bear witness to the Light, "that all through Him might believe." We are given, first of all, a purpose for the Incarnation: our relation in this picture is inseparable from His mission. Creator has come to unite with His creation, all of us. Moreover, through John the Baptist's mission we understand that this Light may be shared between all of us; we may be light-bearers and witness to that Light in order that others may find it as well. And this Light is the true source of light in all of us, the light we may each share and bear and reflect.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Creator comes to creation, and creation does not understand Him. This teaches us that we need grace to understand the things that are beyond us, to share in that relationship and find faith. "His own" may mean the entirety of the Jewish people, as He was born a Jew (as indeed was John the Baptist and the author of our Gospel and so were His Twelve Apostles and the majority of the faithful we find in the Gospels). But, we are taught, relationship and kinship comes not through flesh and blood but by the power to receive -- not "the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Grace for grace: through grace each who receives has the right to become a child of God. This gift changes all understanding of what it is to be "God's people," and the notion of what constitutes love and worship, the depth of relationship.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'" And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. Finally there is the witnessing of John the Evangelist himself: "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Imagine being the great friend of the Light incarnate, and "beholding His glory... full of grace and truth." The reference to John the Baptist, repeatedly mentioned here in the beginning of John's Gospel, tells us of the powerful force and presence of the Baptist himself, and his importance in the whole economy of the unfolding of the incarnation of Logos, the life of Jesus and of the church itself. Each has received an abundance of light and grace, from the Light itself, manifest in the world: grace for grace. My study bible says that "grace for grace" is a Semitic expression which signifies an abundance of grace. My study bible has a beautiful note on these verses: "'We' are the disciples, the people of God, pilgrims in this transient world. In the Old Testament, God's glory, His radiant power, dwelt ("tabernacled") in the temple. Here, the eternal Word in His divine glory comes to dwell in the midst of humanity through the Incarnation."

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. To follow the law given through Moses is one thing, but to experience relationship through grace and truth is another and requires of us a deeper kind of challenge -- not to bypass the law, but to fulfill it, in the same sense in which Jesus taught His expansion on the Law in the Sermon on the Mount (see especially here and here). Grace and truth is the shared light, coming from the One Source, which is able to illumine even we who are not God, so that we may become children of God. An ancient teaching on grace and its work in us also teaches us about light: metal thrust into fire becomes full of its heat and energy, but it does not become the fire itself. It remains metal, illumined and perhaps transformed in its properties. Human nature, through grace and truth, "becomes godlike without ceasing to be human," as my study bible puts it. But the Light itself, the Source of Life, none of us has seen but the Son, who has declared God to us. We are illumined through grace and truth, so that we may become "like God" and filled with the light, brought into a deepening fullness of relationship to Creator.

Let us ask, then, what it is to receive this light, to be a witness to the light, and its transforming work in us. We are set down in these verses with the theology of the Church -- the entirety of our understanding of Christ, His inseparability from God the Trinity, His incarnate reality as Son and light-giver to each of us. The question is, then, what do we do with the light? How do we bear it in the world and bear witness to it in ourselves? Do we bring others to this light and share it? Does it work through us? How do these words still ring true today, and about the darkness that does not comprehend? How does that light shine in your life and illuminate what you need and where you need to go? Do you in turn reflect its light and warmth and hope for others? We begin this week awaiting the Light of Easter -- and we have a full period before us to consider that Light and its work in us and among us and through us.