Christmas Octave, Friday – 31st December 2021 — Gospel: Jn 1,1-18
Dual Nature of the Word
Unlike Matthew and Luke who begin their Gospels with stories of the birth of Jesus, the Gospel of John begins with the pre-existent word and the relationship of the word to the world. Jesus the word has double nature: it is God and also an incarnate word made flesh. Thus, the prologue of the Gospel of John is concerned with the sphere of God, the eternal sphere and the sphere of human beings, the temporal one. The word is one with God, but is also distinct from God. The word has given life and light to all creation. Nothing has come into existence without the word. Yet, the word has not always been accepted by people, even the chosen people of God. Those who accept the word are empowered to be children of God, not because of their blood lineage, neither because of their desire to relate to God, but because God has gifted them with a new, life-giving relationship. This new relationship is possible because in the person of Jesus, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. God came to dwell with us in an intimate way, by sharing with us the divine life and calling us children of God. John describes then that the fullness of this relationship cannot be expressed with mere human words. It cannot be fully understood until we are one with God eternally. However, the truth of that relationship can only be glimpsed or partially experienced in our human life, if we become children of God in and through Jesus.
