GOSPEL READING:
John 1:1-5, 9-141 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God; 3 all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 9 The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. 11 He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.
Meditation: Why does John the Evangelist begin his Gospel
account with a description of the Word of God and the creation of
the universe and humankind? How might the beginning of John's
Gospel be linked with the beginning of the first book of Genesis
(John 1:1-3 and Genesis 1:1-3)? The "word of God" was a common
expression among the Jews. God's word in the Old Testament is an
active, creative, and dynamic word. "By the word of the Lord the
heavens were made" (Psalm 33:6). "He sends forth his commands to
the earth; his word runs swiftly" (Psalm 147:15). "Is not my word
like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer which breaks the rock
in pieces" (Jeremiah 23:29)? The writer of the Book of Wisdom
addresses God as the one who "made all things by your word"
(Wisdom 9:1).
The eternal Word leaped down from heaven
God's word is also equated with his wisdom. "The Lord by wisdom
founded the earth" (Proverbs 3:19).The Book of Wisdom describes
"wisdom" as God's eternal, creative, and illuminating power. Both
"word" and "wisdom" are seen as one and the same. "For while
gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course
was now half gone, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from
the royal throne, into the midst of the land that was doomed, a
stern warrior carrying the sharp sword of your authentic command"
(Book of Wisdom 18:14-16).
Truly man and truly God
John describes Jesus as God's creative, life-giving and
light-giving word that has come to earth in human form. "God so
loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Jesus
is the wisdom and power of God which created the world and
sustains it who assumed a human nature in order to accomplish our
salvation in it. Jesus became truly man while remaining truly God.
"What he was, he remained, and what he was not he assumed" (from
an early church antiphon for morning prayer). Jesus Christ is
truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord,
became a man and our brother. From the time of the Apostles the
Christian faith has insisted on the incarnation of God's Son "who
has come in the flesh" (1 John 4:2)
.
Gregory of Nyssa, one of the great early church fathers (330-395
AD) wrote: Sick, our nature demanded to be healed; fallen, to
be raised up; dead, to rise again. We had lost the
possession of the good; it was necessary for it to be given back
to us. Closed in darkness, it was necessary to bring us the
light; captives, we awaited a Savior; prisoners, help; slaves, a
liberator. Are these things minor or insignificant?
Did they not move God to descend to human nature and visit it,
since humanity was in so miserable and unhappy a state?
Christians never cease proclaiming anew the wonder of the
Incarnation. The Son of God assumed a human nature in order to
accomplish our salvation in it. The Son of God ...worked with
human hands; he thought with a human mind. He acted with a human
will, and with a human heart he loved. Born of the Virgin
Mary, he has truly been made one of us, like to us in all things
except sin (Gaudium et Spes).
We become partakers of Christ's divine nature
If we are going to behold the glory of God we will do it through
Jesus Christ. Jesus became the partaker of our humanity so we
could be partakers of his divinity (2 Peter 1:4). God's purpose
for us, even from the beginning of his creation, is that we would
be fully united with Him. When Jesus comes God is made known as
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. By our being united
in Jesus, God becomes our Father and we become his sons and
daughters. Do you thank the Father for sending his only begotten
Son to redeem you and to share with you his glory?
Almighty God and Father of light, your eternal Word leaped down from heaven in the silent watches of the night. Open our hearts to receive his life and increase our vision with the rising of dawn, that our lives may be filled with his glory and his peace.
Psalm 98:1-6
1 O sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory.
2 The LORD has made known his victory, he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
4 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
5 Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!
