A Christmas Reflection for today: John 1:1-18
This magnificent passage provides a powerful opening to this gospel. It lays out the main themes of John’s gospel – life, light, truth, the world, testimony and the pre-existence of Jesus Christ.
He is the Incarnate Logos or Word, who reveals God the Father to us.Then comes the dramatic statement: “the Word became flesh”. The Word took on our human nature in all its fullness. He did not have, as some people believed, just the external appearance of a human but was “like us in all things”. And he lived right among us. The Greek term literally means he “pitched his tent or tabernacle” among us. Let us welcome him today.
Christmas. The birth of Jesus. The Word became flesh and lived among us. Heaven and earth met. The light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. This is like a new creation story of light and darkness (Gen 1). Jesus the light of the world is introduced to us.
John is a witness to the light. We are children of God who are promised new life by Jesus who revealed the Father’s love to us. The invitation is to welcome him in a world that does not know him. Even his own people did not accept him.
Jesus is God’s greatest gift to us. Prayer today can rest in the mystery of God who is revealed to us in the coming of Jesus. From the beginning he was a sign to be rejected. Jesus desires to be at home with us and desires us to be at home with him. We pray to have room in our hearts and lives for him.
Today let’s look at this wonderful passage from a new point of view, and say: ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the word was LOVE! That love is creative; the beating heart of the universe. It is a love that brings light to everyone. If I allow it to shine on me, I begin to see everyone from the divine point of view. I see that the potential of each person is to become nothing less than a daughter or son of God!’
We come to the end of a year and listen to what God’s word says to us. It helps us look back to learn and look forward in hope. God’s word is a creative word who gives life to all, in love. Jesus is the Word uttered by the Father, the word of hope and promise. Jesus, is God’s message to us – he is our Good News. We know that God loved the world and sent Jesus among us. He is the ‘only Son who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known’.
