John 1:1-18

1 John 2:18-21

Psalm 96:1-2, 11-12, 13

John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word,

    and the Word was with God,

    and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God. 

All things came to be through him,

    and without him nothing came to be.

What came to be through him was life,

    and this life was the light of the human race;

    the light shines in the darkness,

    and the darkness has not overcome it.

A man named John was sent from God.

He came for testimony, to testify to the light, 

so that all might believe through him.

He was not the light,

but came to testify to the light.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world,

    and the world came to be through him,

    but the world did not know him.

He came to what was his own,

    but his own people did not accept him.

But to those who did accept him

    he gave power to become children of God, 

    to those who believe in his name, 

    who were born not by natural generation 

    nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision 

    but of God.

And the Word became flesh

    and made his dwelling among us,

    and we saw his glory,

    the glory as of the Father’s only-begotten Son,

    full of grace and truth.

John testified to him and cried out, saying, 

“This was he of whom I said, 

‘The one who is coming after me ranks ahead of me 

because he existed before me.’”

From his fullness we have all received,

grace in place of grace,

because while the law was given through Moses, 

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God.

The only-begotten Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, 

has revealed him.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I thank you for sending your only-begotten Son to save us from sin and death. Your Word is all-knowing and all-powerful. Guide me along the way that leads to eternal life. 

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Word of God and Creation: The opening lines of John’s Gospel introduce us into the deep mystery of the Word of God and how the Word was active with God in the creation of the world. The Gospels reveal that the one God is a community of divine persons. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. John proclaims that the Son of God – the Word of God – was not created but was eternally with God the Father. Every creature that has being and every creature that has life comes from the Father through his eternal Word. What the Father created through his Word was good. Evil only entered the world because of the sin of the angels and humanity. Some of the angels God created rebelled against God and fell through their pride and envy. Our first parents also fell from God’s grace by abusing their freedom and listening to the devil’s lies about the path to divine life. John proclaims, however, that the darkness of sin is incapable of overcoming the all-powerful light of the Word of God.

2. The Word of God and Israel: When we sinned, God did not abandon us. God called Abraham and made a covenant with him. Faithful to his promise to Abraham, God formed the People of Israel as his own. He spoke his Word to his people through Moses and the prophets. John tells us that the eternal Word of God, the true Light of the world, “came to what was his own, but his own people did not accept him.” Much of the Old Testament is a record of how God was always faithful to his people despite his people’s infidelity and rejection of himself. John tells us that God called his people to become his adopted children, but sadly, many rejected this offer. 

3. The Word of God Dwelt Among Us: After evoking the role of God’s Word in creating the world and in leading Israel, John’s prologue comes to the role of the Word of God in the fullness of time: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The phrase “made his dwelling” is literally “pitched his tent among us” or “tabernacled among us.” Through the Incarnation, the Word of God assumed our human nature and dwelt among us. The Word revealed to us the glory of God and bestowed upon us both grace and truth. John highlights how the Law of Moses was ineffective to save the human race from the darkness of sin or make us adopted children of God. What Jesus, the eternal Son of God, brings to the world is the Truth – the revelation of the Father’s love – and the grace that is powerful enough to bestow divine sonship upon us.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have the words of everlasting life. You are the Word of God, who speaks the Truth and bestows the Life. Comfort me with your Word, guide me by your Truth, fill me with your Life.

Living the Word of God: Looking over the past year, how have I lived as a child of God? Was I a rebellious child? When I sinned against the Father, did I repent and receive his merciful forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Looking ahead to next year, how can I be a better son or daughter of God?