Saturday 29 December 2012

Background

Today's verses are amongst the most famous of all New Testamentwritings, and rightly so for they offer profound theology in theform of beautiful poetry. One can only imagine the inspiration ofthe Holy Spirit to John as he wrote the words - how amazed was heby what he was writing, how aware that he was writing words thatwould echo throughout time ever after as fundamental to globalChristian belief? Of course they were not words that came withoutpreparation. The person who wrote these words was, many scholarsbelieve, the same John as the 'beloved' disciple who was one of theclosest companions of Jesus - and so his writings come out of alife of devotion. Yet they were also fed from a life of study. Ifwe explore the wisdom literature of the Old Testament (and also thebooks of the Apocrypha) we will see that John has informed his workby spending time considering the way that wisdom is given apersonality in these writings, and that when he uses thedescription of Christ as the 'Word' he seems to referring to theancient pictures of wisdom; wisdom that was from God, wisdom whichwas much greater than mere human understanding. Add to this thefact that the ancient wisdom writings paint similar pictures ofwisdom as does John of the 'Word' (such as being involved increation, being light in the darkness....) and we see that Johnwrites from both devotion and study.

Yet John's intention was, as we know from elsewhere in hisGospel (see John 20:31), to evangelise rather than educate.So within his theology and poetry there is good news. He speaks ofJohn the Baptist preparing a way for the light (Jesus), but not tomerely inform - but rather to convince and convert. He promisesthat to receive Jesus and to believe in his name (verse 12) is tobecome one of God's children. And perhaps most incredible of all hedeclares that the Word "became flesh and lived among us" (v. 14).See the first verses of 1 John (the epistle) to see how excited bythis John remains. Finally (verse 18) John lets us know why theincarnation is so crucial to human existence; he declares that itis God the Son who makes the Father known. Without Christ, wecannot know God.

To Ponder

• How well do we allow both study and devotion to inform ourunderstanding of Christ?

• What does it mean to both believe and receive the light?

• How does the incarnation challenge our mission? How well doesthe Church 'live amongst' those God seeks to reach?