John 1

Monday, Jan 4, 2015


Our second reading for this new year is the first chapter of John's Gospel.   The Gospel of John is different than the other Gospels, as we will discover in the next few weeks.  John was the last of the disciples to pen his letter, we speculate that he delayed because Jesus had given him care of his mother (See John 19:27).   Maybe John waited until Mary had passed before he took time to publish his account.  In any case, by the time John writes, the other three Gospels have been circulating for some time.  John doesn't see a need to reiterate everything they said, so he takes a different approach.  In his Gospel, the purpose is to prove to the reader that Jesus Christ really is the Son of God.   So, the miracles that John mentions and the prophecies that he addresses, and the things that Jesus said (such as "I Am" seven different times) are all highlighted by John.
Some have said that in the first chapter of John we have the whole Bible in condensed version.   It begins almost the same way as Genesis, reminding us that before the earth was ever created, God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were communing together in perfect harmony.  It was our creation, and our eventual sin that necessitated the insertion of Jesus into our timeline.
Today allow the powerful images of Jesus as the light of the world, and Jesus as the Word of God in human form to soak into your consciousness.   All wisdom begins in Him, and He alone holds the key to the future.  He is the center of everything that happens in all of human history.   Before we can understand or appreciate anything that is written, we have to accept this basic truth.
Having established this fact, John skips over all mention of the birth of Jesus.  There are no wise men in his account, no shepherds, no mention of Mary and Joseph.  Why?   Because that has already been written.  John goes straight for the most important point.  John the Baptist was the one who was miraculously born to an elderly couple in order to call attention to, and prepare the way for the Messiah.
Then you will notice that John immediately moves to the selection of the disciples.   Wouldn't it be nice to know if John or Jesus saw each other at family reunions, or walked together on trips to Jerusalem for Passover?    Sure, that would be interesting, but it isn't important.   John has limited time and space in which to make his case, and is going to stick to the main themes.


Sometimes people call attention to the gaps in Biblical history and try to plant seeds of doubt because of it.  "it isn't complete" they say.  "How can we believe that valuable information hasn't been left out?"     My response is always "what has been written by different authors provides a seamless account of everything that is important to know for salvation".    Sure, there are other events that we don't know about, but even if we knew them, it wouldn't change anything. 


The Word has become flesh and chosen to live among us.      And, in our time, the Word has chosen to live INSIDE us.   What a wonderful time in human history to be alive!


PR