Christmas Octave, Saturday — 31st December 2022 — Gospel: John 1,1-18
To Raise Up to Godhood
John’s prologue takes us back long before Bethlehem, even before creation, to the realm of timeless eternity. “The Word” conveys the idea of divine self-expression. The divine word is God’s reaching out, seeking to share his divine being, and sharing eternal love with creation. God’s word began to be known first through creation, then through the Torah and the prophets of Israel, and finally through Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, the eternal word became flesh (1,14) i.e., chose to be born into human frailty. In the Word made Flesh, God has chosen to be with his people in a more personal way than ever before. In this way, the incarnate Word gives to humanity the power to become children of God (1,13). This is the ultimate reason why the Word became flesh: so that we might be raised up to share intimately with God’s life.
