Friday 31 December 2010
- Bible Book:
- John
"And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grqce and truth." (v. 14)
Background
This week we have been reflecting on the theme: the Word madeflesh. In terms of Christian theology this means the doctrine ofthe Incarnation, a subject about which many books have beenwritten. But in terms of liturgy and worship, this theme is broughtto a climax for many at that moment in the carol service where thispassage is introduced by the words, "St John unfolds the mystery ofthe Incarnation".
We know it as the Prologue to John's Gospel and it is a passage ofincomparable richness and significance for the Christian faith.Moreover, it's one which is almost impossible to introduce orsummarise here in just a few short paragraphs.
The first few verses alone reveal the depth and range of materialwhich is woven together here: "In the beginning..." takes us rightback to Genesis and the Jewish Torah (the Jewish books of the Law);the creative role of the Word (in Greek 'Logos') draws both onJewish philosophy (Philo and others) and the importance of theWisdom tradition in Scripture; and the image of light reflects thelanguage of Isaiah and the prophets.
Other sections introduce John the Baptist ("There was a man sentfrom God" - verse 6) and the ministry of Jesus ("He came to whatwas his own, and his own people did not accept him" - verse11).
However, the passage reaches its climax in verse 14: "And the Wordbecame flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, gloryas of a father's only son..." The rest of John's Gospel willexplore the truth of this conviction, in terms of the life, deathand resurrection of Jesus Christ and the coming to birth of the newcommunity which will bear his name.
But the Prologue reminds us where we must start, if we are to beginto comprehend the mystery. "No one has ever seen God. It is God theonly Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made himknown" (verse 18).
To Ponder
What does it mean for us to see "the glory of Godin the face of Jesus Christ" (
How comfortable are we with the idea of mysteryin our faith?
Do we learn more about the life of faith by wayof explanation or by embarking on the journey? Why?