Do not marvel that I said to you, "You must be born again." The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit

 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs that Jesus did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"

Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." 

- John 2:23-3:15

 Yesterday we read that the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But he was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs that Jesus did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.   John's Gospel gives us three Passover feasts attended by Jesus during His ministry, between His Baptism by John the Baptist and His Passion (see 6:4 and 11:55).  This gives us a three-year span to His earthly ministry.

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."   Although John has so far reported only one sign in His Gospel (at the wedding at Cana), his Gospel refers above to the signs which people saw who were at the Passover, and here Nicodemus also refers to multiple signs, and that they point to the presence of God.  My study bible says that Nicodemus believed that Jesus was from God, but that his faith was still weak.  He is a Pharisee, and he fears his peers, therefore he came to Jesus by night.  After this conversation, Nicodemus's faith will grow to the point where he defends Jesus before the Sanhedrin (7:50-51), risking his life and standing by making a bold public expression of faith and preparing and entombing the body of Christ (19:39-42).  By tradition of the Eastern Church, Nicodemus's memory is celebrated on the third Sunday of Easter along with the Myrrhbearing Women and also Joseph of Arimathea, who was another member of the Council.  According to some early sources, my study bible reports, Nicodemus was baptized by Peter and consequently removed from the Sanhedrin and forced to flee Jerusalem.

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."   It is a rare revelation that Jesus has made to Nicodemus, affirming for us in some sense that which John has said earlier in our reading, that Jesus knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.  Although Nicodemus is a Pharisee, and member of the Council, there is a way in which Jesus entrusts Himself to Nicodemus through this teaching.  To be born again can also be translated in the original Greek as born "from above."  It clearly refers to the heavenly birth from God via faith in Christ (1:12-13).  This heavenly birth is what baptism is, and the adoption by God as our Father (Galatians 4:4-7). 

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  It is frequently reported in John's Gospel that Jesus' listeners misunderstand what He says in His teachings.  This is an important aspect of the Gospel.  It calls to our attention the depth and meaning of Jesus' words and speech, and it also tells us about how we learn and grow in our understanding.  (See 2:19-21; 4:10-14, 30-34; 6:27; 7:37-39; 11:11-15).  Christ uses each opportunity to elevate an idea from a superficial or earthly meaning to a heavenly and eternal meaning.

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  My study bible tells us that this birth of water and the Spirit is a direct reference to Christian baptism as well as the gift of the Holy Spirit which is given at chrismation.   Jesus' analogy to the wind is a play on words; again, it is an affirmation of the power of language at work through Jesus' speaking and teaching, and a reminder that Jesus is Himself the Word.  The Greek word pneuma/πνευμα means both wind and Spirit.  My study bible tells us that the working of the Holy Spirit in the new birth is as mysterious as the source and destination of the blowing wind.   So it is that likewise, the Spirit moves where He wills and cannot be contained by human ideas or human agendas.

Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven."  My study bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom.  He writes that earthly things refer to grace and baptism given to human beings.  These are earthly, not in the sense of "unspiritual," but simply in the sense that they occur on earth and are given to creatures.  The heavenly things refer to the "ungraspable" mysteries of the eternal generation of the Son from the Father.  They relate to Christ's eternal existence before all time and to God's divine plan for the salvation of the world.  We must first grasp the ways in which God works among human beings before we can begin to understand any of the things that pertain explicitly to God.

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."   And we delve here into yet another tremendous mystery, that of the Cross.  Moses lifted up an image of a serpent in order to cure the Israelites from the deadly bites of poisonous snakes (Numbers 21:4-9).  Here Jesus indicates that this particular miracle-working image prefigured His being lifted up on the Cross.  My study bible tells us that as believers behold the crucified Christ in faith, so the power of death is overthrown in them.  It says that just as the image of a serpent was the weapon that destroyed the power of the serpents, so the instrument of Jesus' death becomes the weapon that overthrows death itself.

The misunderstandings we encounter in John's Gospel are highly significant.  They highlight the power of language at work not only in the Gospels but throughout the text of all the Scriptures.  In like ways, the earliest Church Fathers would come to see the entire text of the Old Testament as prefiguring or expressing (through "Types") the truths, works, and Person of Christ.  All of this gives us an understanding of the fulfillment of the Old Testament through the New, and through the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.  It is once again a testimony to the importance of how language works in us and in our lives, and its qualities of inter-connectedness for our understanding and enrichment, and the depth of spiritual life that grows through time.  Language, indeed, gives us a sense of relationship, so crucial to the communion within the Kingdom.  Meanings themselves become ties of participation within the life of the Church and of all those who live in Him, even tying us to the life of the Church and communion of the saints to come.  Today's passage illustrates the perspective given through John's Gospel, that life within this faith in Christ, and participation within the Kingdom, is not a "one time only" acknowledgment.  It is, instead, a continuum.  We are headed somewhere.  That is, the fullness of perfection is in a particular reality or realization of life, that of union with Christ.  We are either headed toward this place, or we may get caught up in things that distract us from this place.  And (typically) paradoxically, even those things that are meant to distract us from this fullness of being and realization of who we are in Him also work -- with God's help -- to spur us to that place and that fullness.  The Cross is the prime example of this fact of our faith and our true realization of identity in this place of Christ's life.  It is "a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks," as St. Paul writes.  There is no doubt that both the demonic and human forces who wanted Jesus dead were not attempting to help His followers in their faith!  But the Cross is the instrument of salvation.  It is the prime witness to Christ's work and life in the world, and to His message to us to follow Him.  And once again paradoxically, this "stumbling block" and "foolishness" also becomes a symbol that works in all levels within us, giving us a way to grasp our faith regardless of our present understanding or level of spiritual depth.  We are reminded as well that this is the way the text works, giving us infinite levels of access as well as infinite returns to find more there for us.  What that means is that each believer, regardless of background or level of education, regardless of sophistication or cultural initiation or depth of learning, has access to these realities and their profound mysteries that they signal.  Each works as a "sign" and they are meant for all of us.  Let us remember that it was twelve relatively uneducated and unsophisticated men who would bring the message to the world, and that it is the Spirit that truly quickens and brings all these things to mind -- that continues to work with the text, with the images and "types" we've been given, in order to help the whole of the Church, our communities, as well as each one of us, not only to come to this place of faith, but to work with us each moment of our journey.  The rich texture of our faith is hidden in plain sight in all of its manifestations, its services and hymns, its Scriptures, its inspired Tradition, its saints and prayers, and in the revelations we're given through Christ and the works of the Spirit in the world.  It is all meant for all the world through Christ.  This is where salvation really is, within this door given to us, by Whom everything is tied together.  We begin with Nicodemus today, and how Jesus questions that even a teacher of Israel cannot immediately grasp what He has to teach.  So we all start, and learn, and grow.  We are all on our way, even with the detours, to the place He has for each, and for all.

Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up"

 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."

So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But he was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

- John 2:13-22

Yesterday the Gospel gave us its sixth day of Jesus' ministry.  On this day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."  Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  After this (on the seventh day, completing the first week of His ministry) He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.

  Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."    In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) this event occurs at the end of Jesus' ministry.  Here in John it is placed at the beginning, in the first of three Passover festivals that Jesus will attend.  There exist patristic teachings that this event occurred twice.  Those who sold oxen and sheep and doves were trading in live animals which were to be used for sacrifices.  The money changers were trading roman coins for Jewish coins.  As Roman coins bore the image of Caesar, they were considered to be defiling in the temple.  My study bible tells us that the cleansing of the temple points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  At the same time, each person is also considered a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19), and therefore is a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of purely earthly matters; that is, we do nothing separately from God and God's purposes for our lives and the good of the soul.  The disciples recall Psalm 69:9.

So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But he was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  First, we must once again note that in John's Gospel, the term the Jews is most frequently used to mean the leaders; it is accurate to think of the term as a kind of political one, denoting a certain party, in keeping with the events of the time of the writing of this Gospel (specifically the persecution of the followers of Jesus).  We recall once again that all the people in the Gospel are Jews, including Jesus, as well as the author of the Gospel, with very few exceptions.  Here John uses the term to refer in particular to the chief priests and the elders (see Matthew 21:23).  Since Jesus is not a Levitical priest, His authority to cleanse the temple is challenged by them.  Jesus is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, and so He answers here in a hidden way that His apostles understand when they remembered that He had said this to them:  the ultimate sign will be His death and Resurrection.  It became an intrinsic part of their faith, and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

We so often discount the effects and significance of language.  But illustrated in today's reading is the power of language, and especially of the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.   After each event described in today's reading, there is an important connection made by His disciples through memory.  In the first event described here, the cleansing of the temple, His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  And after the description of Jesus' confrontation with the leadership over His authority to cleanse the temple, the text tells us that when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.   Memory and language play an intrinsic role in faith, and in many ways.  The language of the Scriptures works in what we may term a poetic way, but even the word "poetic" isn't full of the true depth that is at work here.  The connections made between memory and the inspired language of the Scriptures, or of a beautiful service or hymn, and particularly the word of Christ Himself,  are infinite in their potential and their effect.  What we read in one passage today will open up for us tremendous new and faceted meanings every other time we read or hear them, depending on our place in life and what we may be capable of receiving.  That Christ Himself is the Word teaches us something of the power of language; that the Word uses words to speak into existence that which we understand as the very foundation of reality says more than one can write in a paragraph or two, and particularly with a limited capacity to understand the mysteries of God.  What we can know is that His is the word that keeps on giving.  For thousands of years, the Scriptures recalled here continue to feed, to inspire, to lead, to give direction and help and succor.  Gratefully, we can read John's Gospel and note that the author of the Gospel, and in the inspiration by the Spirit at work in all of it, gives us specific illustrations of just how the word works, how this language and memory works to help complete and fulfill our place in Christ's life for us, and in the entire framework of the Kingdom into which we are invited and may participate.  One cannot discount the power of word and memory, and its central importance to our faith.  The earliest founders of the Church, in the earliest centuries of its establishment, worked even article by article to establish meaning and to give us its theological underpinnings that lie hidden in plain sight, so to speak, in the language of the word we've been given.  For our purposes, however, it is more important to understand the power of memory at work with the connections that the Scripture makes within us, and how recollection plays such a role in our faith and even in defining who we are.  It all forms a part of the connectedness of the life we're given, and the greater abundance of life that we're promised.  It is how we may experience that Kingdom, how it will continually come to connect with our present experiences -- and how time is no obstacle to meaning, to connection, and even to the love present in the word.  Let us consider the ways in which we are given that which sustains us, builds us up, teaches us meaning, and in which we may also find ourselves at any moment.  It is all given in love, and its connections and memory continue to bring us what we need.

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there

 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."

Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. 

- John 2:1-12

Yesterday we read that on the day following the one in which Jesus met Andrew and Peter, Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said to him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.   Today's reading gives us the first of seven signs in John's Gospel.  These miracles are called signs by John to indicate that they point to something beyond themselves:  that the Kingdom of God has come among us in the Person of Jesus Christ.  On the third day is an expression that means "two days later" from the events in our previous reading (the expression includes that day in its count), but significantly gives us a resurrectional tone to today's reading.  This wedding takes place on the sixth day we're given in John's Gospel, and it parallels the creation of man and woman in Genesis 1:26-31.  In the Old Testament, marriage feasts symbolized the union of God with His Bride, Israel, or the people of God.  In yesterday's reading we were told that Jesus deliberately wanted to go to Galilee, where He begins His ministry.  Galilee had a large Gentile population, a sign that the Gospel will spread to all the world.  "On the third day" gives us a sense that the marriage of God and God's Church will be fulfilled in Christ's Resurrection.  There are other parallels here to the Resurrection account of John (20:1-18):  both involve a woman named Mary who makes an appeal, and in both passages the disciples are invited to witness.   Furthermore, my study bible notes, John's Resurrection account bears a striking similarity to Song of Solomon 3:1-5, once more showing unity between marriage and Christ's Resurrection.  Finally, by Jesus' presence at this wedding, He is declaring marriage to be holy and honorable (Hebrews 13:4).

Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."  This is an example of Mary's gift of intercession, upon which the faithful have since counted and invoked through their own prayers.  Even now, my study bible says, Mary continually speaks to her Son on our behalf and is our preeminent intercessor before His Throne.  We seek the prayers of Mary and other saints just as we would ask others whom we know to pray for us, particularly those noted for their faith and devotion.   All live in the communion of saints and in Christ.   We note Mary's confidence and faith in Him, as she tells the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."  Wine is symbolic of life, and so my study bible notes that there are two levels of Mary's statement, "They have no wine."  First, marriage is not complete without the presence of Christ, and second, the old covenant was unable to bestow life even on the most faithful people.  Contrary to the way it may sound to modern ears and usage, Woman is a sacred title in Scripture.  It conveys deep respect and distinction (4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:13; compare to Genesis 2:23).  When Jesus asks, "What does your concern have to do with Me?" it is more literally in the Greek, "What is that to Me and to you?"   It's not a refusal of Mary's intercession, but rather a declaration that the time hadn't yet come for Christ to be revealed.

Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.   The waterpots are made of stone because in accordance with rabbinical teaching, stone would not contract ritual impurity.  The number six is significant in today's reading; this is not only the sixth day of Jesus' ministry given in John's Gospel, but six is indicative of the Law.  It is one less than the perfect seven, and tells us that the Law, illustrated by the water reserved for purification, was incomplete, imperfect, and unable to bestow life itself.   This water is changed into wine, which symbolizes the old covenant being fulfilled in the new, which is capable of bestowing life.  The overabundant gallons of wine, my study bible tells us, illustrate the overflowing grace Christ grants to all.

And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  A patristic reading of this text sees the transformation of water to wine as prefiguring the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.

This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  Jesus' glory (echoing John 1:14) refers both to Jesus' divine power shone in His signs, and also to His humble service to humankind, which will be shown most perfectly in the Cross.  In both ways, Jesus reveals that He is the One sent from the Father.

After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.  The final verse gives us the seventh day of John's Gospel narrative of Jesus' ministry, on which Jesus rests with His mother, His brothers, and His disciples.   It corresponds to God resting on the seventh day in Genesis 2:1-3.

Jesus manifests His glory, His signs begin for the disciples and even His family:  His mother and brothers (and we recall that the term "brothers" is used also to mean extended family).  Galilee, as my study bible notes, is a place of mixed populations, and Jesus' ministry begins there.  In this first sign, there are all kinds of hints about what will manifest to the world that has begun with a handful of people, and in relatively "quiet" moments.  But this sign will no doubt be spoken of.  A wedding is a public event, part of the life of community.  Even His disciples are gathered here; in John 21:2 we are told that Nathanel, reported in yesterday's reading (above) to have become a disciple, was himself from Cana of Galilee.  As Jesus' mother and extended family are present, as well as His disciples, this is entirely a community affair -- one in which presumably all present are tied to one another through varied relationships, both of family and region.  A marriage is the perfect symbol for the manifestation of Jesus' identity and the reality of the presence of the Kingdom.  As it is the symbol for the union of God with God's people, this is indeed a profound deepening of the understanding of the nature of our universe and our relationship to God.  It is the place where God's glory may be manifest, and the story of His love for us made clear.  In that union there is also a symbol of the entire communion of saints, and the true nature of our prayers.  When we ask for intercession, even in our forms of public worship, we never pray alone.  We pray with all those who live to Him, we worship even as the angels in heaven do so with us.  This is the reality of this community event, sanctioned by God, made possible through God's work in the world.  When we think of wedding, we often consider it a private affair, confined only to particular guests who are invited.  But a wedding is really an affair of a community, a joyful celebration to which all are called, and through which community becomes deepened and made more expansive.  Wine itself is the symbol of covenant; through today's story, we come to understand that it is the Lord who creates true relationship and sanctifies it.   Let us consider all that this truly means in God's sight, with God's help and active presence.  Let us also consider how God's glory manifests for us, in our communities, in our sacraments, and via our prayers.

Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man

 The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said to him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

- John 1:43-51

In yesterday's reading, which comprises the second and third day of the story of Jesus' ministry, we read that John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."  Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"  He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).

The following day Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."   John gives us the following day in this beginning of his Gospel, making this the fourth day parallel to the creation week of Genesis.  In today's reading, Philip and Nathanael are called to discipleship, having been previously disciples of John the Baptist.  They see Christ as the true Light, the One who was revealed in the Old Testament, a lesser light.  It parallels the establishment of the lesser and greater lights governing the night and the day on the fourth day in Genesis 1:14-19.  Nathanael is also known as Bartholomew. 

And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said to him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"   Nazareth (and Galilee itself), we will read later on in scathing comments by the Pharisees, was not looked at as being at all distinguished in spiritual terms (see John 7:52).  Here, even Nathanael, who is also a Galilean (from Cana), speaks disparagingly of Nazareth.  But readers of the New Testament understand that Christ, although raised in Nazareth, was born in Bethlehem.  "No deceit," my study bible says, means both having a pure heart and being straightforward with others.  Nathanael is definitely not trying to use flattery or charm for any purpose!

Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  My study bible notes that what occurred under the fig tree is not precisely stated.  According to St. John Chrysostom, this was the meeting place of Philip and Nathanael, and Jesus was praising Nathanael for being so diligent and careful in His search for the Messiah.  Jesus' foreknowledge and ability to see into the heart of Nathanael stir him to this confession of faith.

And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."    Here the title Son of Man is introduced in this particular Gospel.  It is a title of the Messiah that had a level of mystery in its meaning, according to my study bible.  It indicated a man of heavenly origin who would usher in the Kingdom of God.  This title is originally found in the prophecy of Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14).  In another Old Testament prophecy, Jacob dreamed of a ladder which connected earth to heaven, and upon which the angels of God were ascending and descending (Genesis 28:12-15).  By his own words, Jesus teaches us that He is in fact this "ladder" who unites earth to heaven; and therefore He is this Son of Man.

It is important right from "the beginning" (John 1:1, Genesis 1:1) that we understand who Jesus, the Son of Man, truly is.  John has established in the first verses of His Gospel, that Jesus is the Word, the Son, made incarnate as human being.  In yesterday's reading, this truth of His identity -- including His relationship as Son to both Father and Spirit -- was revealed to John the Baptist, who testifies of the vision he was given.  So, right from the start, John's Gospel establishes Christ as creator of the universe, that "all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."  But in the great and overarching poetry of the Gospel, nothing is lost in the facts of the Son of Man.  For even as our Creator, through Whom all things were made, Jesus' story, as Son of Man, is entirely one that is steeped in the humble, in the small and personal and particular.  One by one, His disciples are chosen.  It is approximately His thirtieth year of human life as Jesus, and now is the time He is revealed, only to John the Baptist, as the One upon whom sits the Holy Spirit (see yesterday's reading, above).  As Jesus is the ladder that unites earth to heaven, so the Gospel gives us a portrait of the Son of Man -- God condescending in human form to earth as the man Jesus, and we are given these intimate pictures of Jesus' life and beginning ministry.   When Jesus prepares His disciples for His Crucifixion, He gives us another image of the even tiny, small, intimate thing that manifests a tremendous -- seemingly impossible to quantify -- harvest, and compares Himself and His sacrifice on the Cross to a grain of wheat that falls to earth (John 12:24).    It was this paradox that turned the entire classical world to the mystery of Christ.  That is, the infinite contained in the small, the tiny, the finite -- God in humility descending to be one of us, and to suffer every injustice of the powerless in this world, even as One who never sins, compounding that injustice.  What we find in this tremendous story is the greatness of an entire and infinite universe contained in the personal and the finite.  Even in Nathanael's plainspokenness, we receive the wisdom of the Gospel.  As one of us, the Son of Man unites heaven with earth, making it possible for us to be like Him and with Him.  This remains the story behind the story, which we should never forget, because that story is made just for us -- each one of us, in our most intimate and humble times of our lives.  He is here for each one of us and so commands that we should remember at all times (see this reading).

Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."

Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"  He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).

- John 1:(29-34)35-42

Yesterday we read the testimony of John, when the religious leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said, "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."  Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."   The Gospel gives us another day ("the next day" or the second day of this beginning week of Jesus' ministry, paralleling the creation story of Genesis.)  This second day specifically parallels the separation of water above from the water below on the second day in Genesis 1:6-8.  My study bible explains that John's declaring Jesus as the Lamb of God recalls Isaiah's "Servant of God" who dies for the transgressions of His people (Isaiah 53:4-12).  Christ, who is the true Paschal (or Passover) Lamb, offers Himself for our deliverance from both darkness and death (1 Peter 1:18-19).  According to St. John Chrysostom, Jesus came to John this second time so that John could make this declaration, thus stopping anyone from thinking that Jesus needed baptism to wash away sins. 

And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."  That the Spirit remained upon Him teaches us that Christ possesses the Spirit in His fullness from all eternity.  He did not receive the Holy Spirit at baptism.  Instead, we are to understand that the vision that John saw revealed the truth of Christ -- that the Holy Spirit had always rested upon Him.  Thus, this is called Epiphany (in the East) or Theophany; it is a manifestation or showing forth of God the Trinity.

Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"  He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).  The Gospel gives us the third day in these verses, in which John the Baptist sends two disciples to Christ, whom Jesus gathers to be His own.  One of them, Simon, is immediately given a name which declares him to be the foundation of the Church (see also Matthew 16:18).  This third day of John's Gospel parallels the gathering of the waters and the establishment of growth on the land on the third day in Genesis 1:9-13.  Jesus' first disciples were first followers of John the Baptist; these would grow to include not only Andrew and Simon, or Cephas, mentioned here, but also in tomorrow's reading will expand to include Philip and Nathanael (also known as Bartholomew).  There is in addition an unnamed disciple in today's reading (one of the two of his disciples with whom John stood), who according to some patristic writers is John, the author of this Gospel.  It was, in Christ's time, a common literary device for a writer not to give his own name (see Luke 24:13-18, in which only one disciple is named of the two traveling the road to Emmaus). 

As John's Gospel unfolds the story of this beginning of Jesus' ministry, we can take a perspective on how great things grow.  That is, we see the unfolding of these events day by day.  There is no great declaration to the world that an Empire has begun, or some great event that shakes the foundations of material power.  Instead, the Christ is revealed by the one who prepared the way for Him, but not to the great powers of the world and its rulers.  Jesus begins gathering disciples one by one, from John who is the witness to the Spirit and the voice of the Father who declares Christ the Son.  It starts in God's time, and on God's terms.  Almost all of the events of Jesus' life start "small," so to speak.  Even the feeding of five thousand in the wilderness begins with simply a few provisions at hand (Matthew 14:13-21).  If we could but look at how God unfolds God's plans in the world, we may be given insight as to our own lives and our own plans, and how things work on levels we don't know.  Our lives are not about spectacular declarations and devices.  Instead, we live with God in mind, with prayer, and with an investment in time that allows what is worth having, being, and doing to unfold through God's purposes.  We don't know the blessings that may be infinite which are contained in one person we meet, one happenstance or chance calling in life.  Out of the relatively small things we think are present to us, we may receive uncountable blessings if used in the proper way, at the proper time, and for the right purposes.  We simply can't discount what is possible with God.  What is striking about today's reading is its "smallness" and "privateness."    There is nothing grandiose here, even in an age of grandiosity, in a place in which Herod the Great had set the tone for building of Empire.  Everything is done in humility, a quality for which John the Baptist is exemplary as a saintly figure.  The Baptist does not reveal Christ to the religious leadership nor to the state rulers.  This is a vision given to him about which he later testifies; the most immediate revelation is simply to two of his disciples that this is the Lamb of God.  All things unfold from there.  If we are to take this story seriously, we are to understand that God does not work the way we work, and that we can but leave things to God's hands, and ask that we participate with our own lives in that continual unfolding as God works within us.

"Make straight the way of the Lord," as the prophet Isaiah said

 Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said, "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

- John 1:19-28

In yesterday's reading, we began reading John's Gospel with what is known as its Prologue:  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.

Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said, "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as the prophet Isaiah said."  The focus of the Gospel shifts from the Prologue, which gave us a sense of who Christ is as Son, and how the Christ became Incarnate as human being in a saving mission for the world.  Now we begin to read in sharp focus about Christ's ministry and its beginnings.  It started with John the Baptist and his witness.  The Gospel itself will give us seven consecutive days, as does Genesis, which is in keeping with the focus of the Prologue and its message of "in the beginning."  Today's reading gives us the first day of Jesus' public ministry, and it must begin with John the Baptist.  He bears witness to the Light -- the Christ -- in the presence of the Jews, the priests and Levites who were sent to question him.  As we read John's Gospel, it is important to remember that the term "the Jews" was by the time of its writing used here most often as a type of political term; it denotes the leadership which was in opposition to the disciples of Christ.  All the people in the Gospel, with few exceptions, are Jews, including John the Baptist, Jesus' disciples, and Jesus Himself -- and that includes the author of the Gospel as well.  These men sent from Jerusalem are like religious regulators, they are the ones with the authority who question John.  John's witness to them parallels the creation of light on the first day in Genesis 1:3-5.  John the Baptist is considered the last and greatest of all the Old Testament type prophets, but he is not "the Prophet," that is, the Messiah whose coming was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  John the Baptist quotes from Isaiah 40:3, to teach us about his role in the history of salvation and the story of the Christ.

Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.  The Pharisees are an important party of the leadership, the Council.  They will most often form the opposition to Christ and His questioners, but there are also those among them who will be followers of Christ.   The Baptist is asked about Elijah because there was a prophecy that Elijah would return before the Messiah came (Malachi 4:5-6); Jesus will later of say of John that he is Elijah returned in spirit (Matthew 11:11-14).

John's Gospel immediately sets up the vying interests and parties that will play a role in the ministry of Jesus and what is to come.  The religious authorities send those from Jerusalem who question John the Baptist.  What is he doing?  Who is he?  What is his authority to baptize?  Authority will play the key role in the story of Christ and the opposition to His ministry.  Who is the highest authority?  Where does that authority come from?  Over and over again, the story of Christ will point us back to the Source of all authority.  Here, John the Baptist makes an allusion to the power of the Messiah who is to come, and the comparatively weak power of his own baptism in preparation for the Christ.  John baptizes with water for repentance, so that people are prepared to meet the Lord.  It is the way to "'make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."  Hidden behind all things is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the world, who will play His role in the baptism of Christ that is to come, and the beginning of Jesus' public ministry in the world.  Because of the work of the Spirit (and indeed the Trinity that will be revealed in Christ's baptism), all that we read here is timeless.  It reflects events that happened long ago, but to "make straight the way of the Lord" through repentance remains our number one way of coming to terms with who we are, and becoming the persons that Christ calls us to be.  It is the one way we meet our Lord truly, in the honesty and openness of being called back to the Lord and giving our lives to His will for us.  John prepares the people for the advent of the Messiah, but each of our lives remain that place, with the road within us that needs to be made straight for the way of the Lord.  We give all things over to the power of God, the Spirit that is always with us, at work in the world, to Christ, and to the Father, who may make their way to dwell within us (John 14:23).   What we will find as faithful is that the words are timeless, they are with us now, even as we seek to dwell in the present and resolve our own questions and problems and struggles within us.  "Make straight the way of the Lord" -- from Isaiah to John to our present life, this is the way that points to the Christ, in whom we find what is truly needed.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God

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.   Today the lectionary begins the Gospel of John.  John's is often called the most "spiritual" of the Gospels, as it is suffused with the theological underpinnings of our understanding of Christ, and also of the Trinity.  Its prologue, which comprises today's entire reading, begins with the beginning, so to speak, teaching us about the Word that became Incarnate.  It begins with the answer to all the questions about Christ.  In the beginning takes us back to Genesis, but this creation story speaks of the Creator Himself.  But Genesis spoke of the first creation, my study bible says, while this Prologue of John reveals the new creation in Christ.  It's also the beginning before the beginning, for the Word already was; the Word is the eternal Son of God.  The "was" placed here indicates that which already existed before the beginning, without beginning.  There is no reference here to a starting point.  Logos/Word may mean "wisdom," "reason," and "action" as well as "word."  All of these are attributes of the Son of God.  That the word was with God tells us that the Word, the Son of God, is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father.  He Himself is God with the same divinity as the Father.

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 is not merely an instrument or servant used by the Father.  Will, operation, and power are one in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, my study bible explains.  Therefore, 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 tells us that only God has life in Himself.  Therefore, the Word, being God, is the source of life, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  John writes that the life was the light of men (of human beings, as the word in Greek, anthropos, literally means), introducing humankind as receiver of the divine light.  As we participate in the life of the Son, believers themselves become children of the light (12:36, Ephesians 5:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:5).  My study bible tells us that 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 (Matthew 17:1-5).

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.   Darkness is an indication of both spiritual ignorance and also satanic opposition to the light.  My study bible explains that those who hate truth prefer ignorance for themselves and strive to keep others ignorant as well (3:19).  It's important that we understand that the word which is well-translated as comprehend similarly means in the original Greek to both "understand" and to "overcome" or "take in."  Therefore, darkness can never overpower the light of Christ, nor is it capable of understanding 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.  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.   This John is John the Baptist, also called Forerunner, who bore witness to the Light, who is Christ.

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.   My study bible says 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 Him.  Those who accept Him have His light.  In many Eastern Churches, the hymn after the Gospel reading and communion is sung:   "We have seen the true light, we have received the heavenly Spirit."  The right to become children of God:  the word for right means also "authority."  But it indicates a gift from God, and not an inalienable right such as may be thought of in a legal document such as those of a Constitution of a state.  Those who receive Christ become children of God by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7) and by grace inherit what Christ is by nature (see 2 Peter 1:1-11).  To believe in His name is to believe and trust in Him who in His humanity took the name Jesus as Word, Son, Messiah, and Savior.  Adoption as a child of God, my study bible tells us, is not a matter of ethnic descent (of blood) as it was in the Old Testament, nor are we children of God only 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.  It is accomplished and manifested in the sacrament of Holy Baptism (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.  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.'"  That the Word became flesh clarifies the manner in which the Son and Word of God came to His people (as told in verses 9-11, above), and points specifically to the Incarnation.  The Word became fully human without ceasing to be fully God, my study bible says.  He assumed complete human nature:  body, soul, will, emotion, and even mortality.  That is, all that pertains to humanity without sin.  As God and Man in one Person, Christ "pours His divinity into all of human nature, for anything not assumed by Christ would not have been healed," my study bible tells us, paraphrasing St. Gregory of Nazianzus.  In the Old Testament, God's presence dwelt (or "tabernacled" or "tented") in the ark of the covenant and later in the temple.  But now, the eternal Word comes to dwell in and among humanity itself.  Christ's glory refers to both His divine power shown by signs and wonders (2:11; 11:4, 40) and also to His humble service to human beings, which was shown most fully and perfectly on the Cross (12:23-32; 13:31).  In each way, Christ reveals that He is the One who is sent from the Father.  That He is the only begotten of the Father tells us that although He has no beginning in time as we experience it, He has the Father as His source from eternity.  He is called "only begotten" because there is no other who is born from the Father.  (The Holy Spirit exists eternally from the Father through another mystery which is called "procession" -- see 15:26.)   Full of grace and truth qualifies both the Word and His glory.  Grace, my study bible explains, is Christ's uncreated energy which is given to us through His love and mercy.  Truth includes His faithfulness to His promises and covenants and to the reality of His words and gifts.

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.  My study bible notes 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.  The Greek theological term for this is "Theosis."   In Christ, God's children become gods by grace (10:34-35), without ceasing to be human.  A traditional metaphor to this process is metal that is thrust into fire:  it takes on the properties of fire, such as heat and light, without ceasing to be metal.  Just the same, human nature permeated by God may take on properties of the divine nature.  Grace for grace is a Semitic expression which signifies an overabundance of grace.  That no one has seen God at any time tells us that no one can see the nature or essence of God (to see God is to die - Exodus 33:20).  Only One such as Christ, who is divine Himself, can see God; therefore the Son is the only One who can declare Him.  This revelation of God's energies may be received by the faithful; Moses saw the "back" of God (Exodus 33:21-23), Isaiah saw His glory (see Isaiah 6:1, John 12:41). 

The Prologue to John's Gospel gives us the theology of the Church, the foundation upon which it stands, with Christ not only as its center, but also at the center of the history of humanity and all of Creation.  It is this foundation upon which all else is built.  Let us give consideration to how these words shape and define the lives we live today, the lens through which we see our own strengths and struggles, light and darkness, and that which we seek for ourselves, and our communities, even for our world.  He was, in the beginning, and so the Scriptures testify, He is the one who has been with us from the beginning.   Let us remember that John's Gospel is also the Gospel of Love, as it is John who repeatedly gives us Jesus' new commandment for all of us:  "Love one another."  This, too, is part of the light that is the life of men, and that those who live in darkness cannot see nor comprehend.