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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
On Saturday, we read the end of chapter ten in Mark's Gospel: Jesus and the disciples, traveling toward Jerusalem, came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called. Then they called the blind man, saying to him, "Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you." And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus. So Jesus answered and said to him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" The blind man said to Him, "Rabboni, that I may receive my sight." Then Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Today the lectionary cycle begins John's Gospel, and we're invited in to consider the deeper things of His ministry and His life in the world. Who is He really? These first verses of John give us the theology that we understand as Christians, so central to our faith. Christ is the Word, but more than that, He already "was" in the beginning. John parallels the Creation story in Genesis, but this Gospel speaks of Creator. My study bible says that "was" indicates existence without reference to a starting point, emphasizing the Word's (Logos) eternal existence without beginning. Logos can mean "wisdom," "reason," and "action" as well as "word" which are all attributes of the Son of God. "Word" not only "names" things into being, but shapes identity and meaning to all things. That the Word was "with God" tells us of two Persons but in eternal communion: Father and Son. That the Word was God speaks of the divine nature, and co-equal and co-eternal with the Father.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. The Word is co-Creator with the Father and the Holy Spirit, fully participating in the divine Godhead. My study bible says, "Will, operation, and power are one in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus, the heavens and the earth are the works of the One who made them, while the Son was not made but is eternally begotten of the Father."
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. My study bible explains that only God has life in Himself. The Word, being God, is the source of life, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And this life is the light of men -- we start to understand the relationship between God and humanity. We receive the divine light. My study bible says, "By participating in the life of the Son, believers themselves become children of the light. . . . Moses saw the divine light in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2); the whole nation saw it at the Red Sea (Exodus 13:21); Isaiah saw it in his heavenly vision (Isaiah 6:1-5); and the three apostles saw it at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-5).
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. My study bible tells us that darkness indicates both spiritual ignorance and also satanic opposition to the light. It says, "Those who hate truth prefer ignorance for themselves and strive to keep others ignorant as well (3:19)." The word comprehend is a good translation of the original Greek word, which means both to "understand" and "overcome" (as in the expression "to take in"). Thus, my study bible says, "darkness can never overpower the light of Christ, nor can it understand the way of love."
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. John the Evangelist here speaks of John the Baptist, but the emphasis again is on the Light coming into the world, on Christ.
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. Here we have the seeming contradiction embodied in the free will of human beings: our Creator comes bringing Light into the world, and yet we don't know Him, and many of His own do not receive Him. Thus, says my study bible, they can neither know nor recognize Him. Those who accept Him have His light.
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. The Greek word for right here also means "authority;" it indicates a gift of God rather than an inalienable right. The distinction is important, and essential to the understanding of our faith. My study bible says, "Those who receive Christ become children of God by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7) and by grace inherit everything Christ is by nature. . . . To believe in His name means to believe and trust in Him who in His humanity took the name Jesus as Word, Son, Messiah, and Savior." Adoption is a spiritual reality; it's not a matter of ethnic descent (of blood) as it was in the Old Testament, nor natural birth (the will of the flesh), nor even by our own decision (the will of man). My study bible explains, "Becoming a child of God is a spiritual birth by grace, through faith, and in the Holy Spirit. This is accomplished and manifested in the sacrament of Holy Baptism" (see 3:5-8).
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. My study bible has a long note on this single verse. It explains that the Word became flesh clarifies the manner in which the Son and Word of God came to His people; it points specifically to His Incarnation. "The Word became fully human without ceasing to be fully God. He assumed complete human nature: body, soul, will, emotion, and even mortality -- everything that pertains to humanity except sin. As God and Man in one Person, Christ pours divinity into all of human nature, for anything not assumed by Christ would not have been healed." That He dwelt among us is literally written He "tabernacled" or "tented" among us in the Greek. It's a reflection of the Old Testament image of God's presence dwelling midst Israel in the ark of the covenant and later in the temple. But here, the eternal Word comes and dwells in and among humanity itself, even as a human being. His glory, says my study bible, refers both to the divine power shown by His signs and wonders and to His humble service to mankind, shown most perfectly on the Cross (all of which is expressed in John's Gospel). In both ways Christ reveals that He is the One sent from the Father. That He is only begotten of the Father tells us that He has no beginning, and yet the Father is His source from eternity. My study bible says He is called only begotten because there is no other born from the Father. (The Holy Spirit exists eternally from the Father through another mystery called "procession." See John 15:26.) The phrase full of grace and truth is meant to qualify both the Word and His glory. Grace, says my study bible, is "Christ's uncreated energy given to us through love and mercy. Truth includes His faithfulness to His promises and covenants and to the reality of His words and gifts."
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. Surely these words are the witness of John, Jesus' close disciple, and one who would become guardian to Mary, His mother. My study bible says, "In saying we have received of His fullness, the Scriptures confirm that God's grace can fill human nature to the extent of actually deifying it. . . . In Christ, God's children become gods by grace (10:34-35), without ceasing to be human. As metal thrust into fire takes on properties of fire (such as heat and light) without ceasing to be metal, so human nature permeated by God takes on the properties of the divine nature. Grace for grace is a Semitic expression signifying an overabundance of grace."
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. And Who is God? Christ's revelation to the world is meant to more fully answer this essential question for us. My study bible explains that no one can see God's true nature or essence (that is, to see God as God sees God). Exodus 33:20 tells us that to see God is to die. Therefore, only One who is divine could see God, and thus the Son is the One who may declare Him. My study bible tells us that this revelation of God's energies can be received by the faithful; it notes that Moses saw the "back" of God (Exodus 33:21-23), Isaiah saw His glory (see Isaiah 6:1 and John 12:41).
So Who is God? Everything in this Prologue to John's Gospel tells us about God, and it tells us about the mission into the world, with God (in the Second Person of the Son) manifest as human being in the world. John's Prologue tells us so much about Christ, and also about His mission. He is the One who has seen God, knows God, is God. He was God already "in the beginning." He has become flesh and dwelt among us in order to reveal God to us. Through His grace and truth this will happen. John speaks as a witness when he writes, "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace." He speaks as witness not only for himself but for others, for all of us who were to come. But the mission is a mission of love, and it is clear to all of us that God wishes to reveal Himself to us, to become closer to us and draw us closer to God. The kind of closeness that Christ will teach is something that goes far beyond a worldly understanding of relationship. In teaching us about communion, in giving us grace and truth, this revealed God will invite us to participate as fully as possible, "in Him and with Him." John's Gospel will repeatedly give us words like this, words that teach us about relationship that is closer than anything else we can imagine. In John 14:20, Jesus promises the disciples, "At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in Me, and I in you." There will be repeated promises of this kind of relationship, and it is only possible through our understanding of Christ as given through John, through this Prologue in today's reading. Without the divine component of the reality that we accept as faith, we have no such promise. It is a spiritual reality that God gives us and brings us and makes flesh, one that tinges our lives and makes it possible to be human being "indwelt" by the living God, the One who came to reveal God to us, and to invite us to closer relationship, to the fullness of the life He offers us. How do you receive that light? How do you understand its indwelling and its work? The parallel to our previous reading, that of Bartimaeus the blind beggar, gives us a hint. Jesus brings light to the eyes of Bartimaeus, and in John's Gospel we read that Christ is the light of the world. Let us remember the point, what our eyes are opened to here, and why this particular Gospel is just so important to our understanding of our faith.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Today the lectionary cycle begins John's Gospel, and we're invited in to consider the deeper things of His ministry and His life in the world. Who is He really? These first verses of John give us the theology that we understand as Christians, so central to our faith. Christ is the Word, but more than that, He already "was" in the beginning. John parallels the Creation story in Genesis, but this Gospel speaks of Creator. My study bible says that "was" indicates existence without reference to a starting point, emphasizing the Word's (Logos) eternal existence without beginning. Logos can mean "wisdom," "reason," and "action" as well as "word" which are all attributes of the Son of God. "Word" not only "names" things into being, but shapes identity and meaning to all things. That the Word was "with God" tells us of two Persons but in eternal communion: Father and Son. That the Word was God speaks of the divine nature, and co-equal and co-eternal with the Father.
All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. The Word is co-Creator with the Father and the Holy Spirit, fully participating in the divine Godhead. My study bible says, "Will, operation, and power are one in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus, the heavens and the earth are the works of the One who made them, while the Son was not made but is eternally begotten of the Father."
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. My study bible explains that only God has life in Himself. The Word, being God, is the source of life, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And this life is the light of men -- we start to understand the relationship between God and humanity. We receive the divine light. My study bible says, "By participating in the life of the Son, believers themselves become children of the light. . . . Moses saw the divine light in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2); the whole nation saw it at the Red Sea (Exodus 13:21); Isaiah saw it in his heavenly vision (Isaiah 6:1-5); and the three apostles saw it at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-5).
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. My study bible tells us that darkness indicates both spiritual ignorance and also satanic opposition to the light. It says, "Those who hate truth prefer ignorance for themselves and strive to keep others ignorant as well (3:19)." The word comprehend is a good translation of the original Greek word, which means both to "understand" and "overcome" (as in the expression "to take in"). Thus, my study bible says, "darkness can never overpower the light of Christ, nor can it understand the way of love."
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. John the Evangelist here speaks of John the Baptist, but the emphasis again is on the Light coming into the world, on Christ.
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. Here we have the seeming contradiction embodied in the free will of human beings: our Creator comes bringing Light into the world, and yet we don't know Him, and many of His own do not receive Him. Thus, says my study bible, they can neither know nor recognize Him. Those who accept Him have His light.
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. The Greek word for right here also means "authority;" it indicates a gift of God rather than an inalienable right. The distinction is important, and essential to the understanding of our faith. My study bible says, "Those who receive Christ become children of God by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7) and by grace inherit everything Christ is by nature. . . . To believe in His name means to believe and trust in Him who in His humanity took the name Jesus as Word, Son, Messiah, and Savior." Adoption is a spiritual reality; it's not a matter of ethnic descent (of blood) as it was in the Old Testament, nor natural birth (the will of the flesh), nor even by our own decision (the will of man). My study bible explains, "Becoming a child of God is a spiritual birth by grace, through faith, and in the Holy Spirit. This is accomplished and manifested in the sacrament of Holy Baptism" (see 3:5-8).
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. My study bible has a long note on this single verse. It explains that the Word became flesh clarifies the manner in which the Son and Word of God came to His people; it points specifically to His Incarnation. "The Word became fully human without ceasing to be fully God. He assumed complete human nature: body, soul, will, emotion, and even mortality -- everything that pertains to humanity except sin. As God and Man in one Person, Christ pours divinity into all of human nature, for anything not assumed by Christ would not have been healed." That He dwelt among us is literally written He "tabernacled" or "tented" among us in the Greek. It's a reflection of the Old Testament image of God's presence dwelling midst Israel in the ark of the covenant and later in the temple. But here, the eternal Word comes and dwells in and among humanity itself, even as a human being. His glory, says my study bible, refers both to the divine power shown by His signs and wonders and to His humble service to mankind, shown most perfectly on the Cross (all of which is expressed in John's Gospel). In both ways Christ reveals that He is the One sent from the Father. That He is only begotten of the Father tells us that He has no beginning, and yet the Father is His source from eternity. My study bible says He is called only begotten because there is no other born from the Father. (The Holy Spirit exists eternally from the Father through another mystery called "procession." See John 15:26.) The phrase full of grace and truth is meant to qualify both the Word and His glory. Grace, says my study bible, is "Christ's uncreated energy given to us through love and mercy. Truth includes His faithfulness to His promises and covenants and to the reality of His words and gifts."
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. Surely these words are the witness of John, Jesus' close disciple, and one who would become guardian to Mary, His mother. My study bible says, "In saying we have received of His fullness, the Scriptures confirm that God's grace can fill human nature to the extent of actually deifying it. . . . In Christ, God's children become gods by grace (10:34-35), without ceasing to be human. As metal thrust into fire takes on properties of fire (such as heat and light) without ceasing to be metal, so human nature permeated by God takes on the properties of the divine nature. Grace for grace is a Semitic expression signifying an overabundance of grace."
No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. And Who is God? Christ's revelation to the world is meant to more fully answer this essential question for us. My study bible explains that no one can see God's true nature or essence (that is, to see God as God sees God). Exodus 33:20 tells us that to see God is to die. Therefore, only One who is divine could see God, and thus the Son is the One who may declare Him. My study bible tells us that this revelation of God's energies can be received by the faithful; it notes that Moses saw the "back" of God (Exodus 33:21-23), Isaiah saw His glory (see Isaiah 6:1 and John 12:41).
So Who is God? Everything in this Prologue to John's Gospel tells us about God, and it tells us about the mission into the world, with God (in the Second Person of the Son) manifest as human being in the world. John's Prologue tells us so much about Christ, and also about His mission. He is the One who has seen God, knows God, is God. He was God already "in the beginning." He has become flesh and dwelt among us in order to reveal God to us. Through His grace and truth this will happen. John speaks as a witness when he writes, "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace." He speaks as witness not only for himself but for others, for all of us who were to come. But the mission is a mission of love, and it is clear to all of us that God wishes to reveal Himself to us, to become closer to us and draw us closer to God. The kind of closeness that Christ will teach is something that goes far beyond a worldly understanding of relationship. In teaching us about communion, in giving us grace and truth, this revealed God will invite us to participate as fully as possible, "in Him and with Him." John's Gospel will repeatedly give us words like this, words that teach us about relationship that is closer than anything else we can imagine. In John 14:20, Jesus promises the disciples, "At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in Me, and I in you." There will be repeated promises of this kind of relationship, and it is only possible through our understanding of Christ as given through John, through this Prologue in today's reading. Without the divine component of the reality that we accept as faith, we have no such promise. It is a spiritual reality that God gives us and brings us and makes flesh, one that tinges our lives and makes it possible to be human being "indwelt" by the living God, the One who came to reveal God to us, and to invite us to closer relationship, to the fullness of the life He offers us. How do you receive that light? How do you understand its indwelling and its work? The parallel to our previous reading, that of Bartimaeus the blind beggar, gives us a hint. Jesus brings light to the eyes of Bartimaeus, and in John's Gospel we read that Christ is the light of the world. Let us remember the point, what our eyes are opened to here, and why this particular Gospel is just so important to our understanding of our faith.
