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

 

 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 

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  As is my custom, I quote from the notes in my study Bible, and reserve my commentary for the end of my post.  In the beginning hearkens us to the creation story of Genesis, but, my study Bible tells us, speaks more clearly of the Creator Himself.  Moreover, Genesis spoke of the first creation, but John's Prologue (the entirety of today's reading) reveals the new creation in Christ.  Was the Word:   In Greek, "Word" is logos/λογος.  My study Bible says that the Word is the eternal Son of God.  "Was" indicates an existence without reference to a starting point, and emphasizes the Word's eternal existence without beginning.   "Logos" can mean "wisdom," "reason," and "action" as well as "word," my study Bible says, and all of these are attributes of the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity.  The word was God:  "With" teaches us that the Word -- the Son of God -- is a distinct Person form the Father, and that the Word is in eternal communion with the Father.  The Word was God:  The Word -- the Son of God -- is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father; my study Bible remarks that He Himself is God with the same divinity as the Father.  There are those who twist and, in so doing, mistranslate this phrase to read "the Word was a god" in order to support a heresy that the Son of God is a created being (such as angels or human beings), a creature who is not fully divine.  But this translation, my study Bible says, is unsupportable, false, dishonest, and deceptive.

He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  The Word is the co-Creator with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1; Psalm 33:6, 9;  Hebrews 1:2) and not simply an instrument or servant used by the Father.  My study Bible explains that will, operation, and power are one in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Therefore, the heavens and 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.  Only God has life which originate within God's own Person.  Therefore, the Word, being God, is the source of life, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  The life was the light of men:  My study Bible remarks that John the Evangelist now introduces humankind as receiver of the divine light.  As we may participate in the life of the Son, believers themselves become children of the light (John 12:36; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5).  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 three apostles saw it at the Transfiguration.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  Darkness is an indication of both spiritual ignorance and of satanic opposition to the light.  My study Bible remarks that those who hate truth prefer ignorance for themselves, and they strive to keep others ignorant as well (John 3:19).  The Greek word which is translated comprehend means both to "understand" and to "overcome" (as does "comprehend").  Therefore, 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. The John which the Gospel refers to here is John the Baptist, not the author of the Gospel.

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.  My study Bible comments that Christ offers light to every person, but the world and even many of His own refuse to receive Him; therefore they can neither know nor recognize Christ.  Those who accept Christ have His light.  In the Orthodox Church, a hymn which is sung at the end of Liturgy, after hearing the Gospel and receive communion, states, "We have seen the true light, we have received the heavenly Spirit."

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: . . ..   My study Bible explains that the word translated as right also means "authority," and it indicates a gift from God, not an inalienable right.  Those who receive Christ become children of God by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7), and by grace inherit everything Christ is by nature (see 2 Peter 1:2-4).  To believe in His name means to believe and trust in the One who in His humanity took the name Jesus as Word, Son, Messiah, and Savior.  

 

 . . . who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.   My study Bible explains that adoption as a child of God is not a matter of ethnic descent (of blood) as it was in the Old Testament; nor are we children of God simply by natural birth (the will of the flesh), nor by our own decision (the will of man).  To become 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 (John 3:5-8; see Titus 3:4-7).  

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 comments that the Word became flesh clarifies the manner in which the Son and Word of God came to His people (verses 9-11), which points specifically to Christ's Incarnation.  The Word became fully human without ceasing to be fully God.  Christ assumed complete human nature, my study Bible explains:  body, soul, will, emotion, and even mortality -- that is, everything that pertains to humanity except sin.  As God and Man in one Person, Christ pours divinity into all of human nature, for anything which was not assumed by Christ would not have been healed.  Dwelt among us:  In the Old Testament, my study Bible notes, God's presence dwelt (literally "tabernacled") in the ark of the covenant and later in the temple.  Here, the eternal Word comes to dwell in and among humanity itself.  His glory refers both to Christ's divine power which was shown by His signs and wonders (John 2:11; 11:4, 40), and also to His humble service to humankind, which was shown most fully and perfectly on the Cross (John 12:23-32; 13:31).  In both ways, Christ reveals that He is the One sent from the Father.  Only begotten of the Father:  My study Bible explains that the Son has no beginning, but has the Father as His source from eternity.  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 which is called "procession"; see John 15:26).  Full of grace and truth:  This phrase qualifies both "the Word" and "His glory."  My study Bible explains that grace is Christ's uncreated energy which is given to us through His love and mercy.  Truth includes Christ's 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.   My study Bible affirms that in saying we have all received of His fullness, the Scriptures confirm that God's grace can fill human nature to the extent of actually deifying it (again, see 2 Peter 1:2-4).  In Christ, God's children become gods by grace (John 10:34-35) without ceasing to be human.  A classical patristic image is given by my study Bible:  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 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.  To say that no one has seen God at any time is to declare that no one can see the nature or essence of God, for the see God is to die (Exodus 33:20).  My study Bible explains that Only One who is divine Himself can see God; therefore the Son is the only One who can declare God.  This revelation of God's energies, it says, can be received by the faithful.  Moses saw the "back" of God (Exodus 33:21-23); Isaiah saw God's glory (see Isaiah 6:1; John 12:41).  

What do we understand of the statement that the Word was made flesh?  That 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?  This is the testimony of John the Evangelist and disciple, the apostle who writes this Gospel.  And it is the testimony that speaks for all the others as well.  In our passage in today's reading (also called the Prologue to John's Gospel), we are given what we might call the bare facts about enormous and infinite realities beyond our grasp:  that the Word is the divine Second Person of the Trinity, called the Son.  And yet, Christ came into our world so those like John would witness Him, fully divine and also fully human.  I know a priest who is fond of teaching that Christ was both 100 percent human and 100 percent divine.  How can we wrap our minds around this?  Our early Christian ancestors would understand that it is in these deepest of paradoxes that we can find -- or even begin to simply imagine -- the truth about Jesus Christ, about the work of God in our world, the activity of grace and the reality of God and God's love for us.  Maybe the most important thing for us as human beings is simply to begin to grasp, in relationship to Him, how we are loved and how we are led, how grace is active in our lives, how Christ came into the world simply to show both God's love for us and also God's guidance for what is best for us, for how to find ourselves and our real identities, how to live our lives, and most importantly of all, how to find the meaning to our lives.  The reality of the world will always offer us alternatives:  alternatives which in one way or another are filled with darkness.  That is, the darkness of ignorance, of partial truths, of lies, of misleading ways of thinking and being, even things which turn out to be traps and dead-end paths.  But Christ is here to shine His light for all of us, and all the time, to show us our way out of the traps and back out of the dead-ends, to set us on a good road, a straight path, His "way."  In tomorrow's reading, John the Baptist will come preaching, quoting from Isaiah, "Make straight the way of the LORD."  We are asked to make our own path to our hearts straight for God's grace, for Christ's light to enter in, for that light still shines in the darkness, although the darkness does not comprehend it.