John 1:1-18

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. From the Creation of the World to John the Baptist: On the last day of the year, the Church invites us to contemplate the origin and purpose of all things. The Gospel of John opens with a summary of the history of the world up to the coming of John the Baptist. It proclaims the mystery of the eternal generation of the Word of God. The Word was in the beginning with God, and from the beginning was God. The world was created and brought into being through the Word that God spoke (Genesis 1:1-31). Created things have the perfections of being, life, and intelligence through the Word of God. The Word was in the world from the beginning, but was especially with Abraham, Moses, David, and the Prophets of Israel. The Word of God made covenant promises to Abraham, gave the covenantal Law to Moses, offered covenantal sonship to David, and, through the Prophets, called Israel to repentance and covenant fidelity. The sad reality is that many rejected God’s Word and offer of covenantal sonship. However, there was always a remnant, a small group, who remained faithful to the Lord. 

2. The Word Became Flesh: The “man named John” was the culmination of the prophets sent by God to testify to the Light and Word of God. John the Baptist prepared the people of Israel to receive the Word of God and welcome “the one who is coming.” He did so by preaching a baptism of repentance and by announcing the imminent arrival of the reign of God. Even though Jesus was conceived and born after John, John knows that Jesus, the Word of God, existed before him. This is the great mystery of Christmas: the eternally begotten and divine Word of God, in the fullness of time, assumed our human nature. He is eternally begotten of the Father and temporally begotten of Mary. The Word, true God and true man, shares in our human nature, so that we can share in the divine nature. This is the marvelous exchange that we contemplate every Christmas. When the priest or deacon mixes the water and wine, he prays: “By the mystery of this water in wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.”

3. We Have Received Grace: The opening verses of John concluded with the mystery of the coming of the Word of God in the flesh. The Word and Son of God was full of grace and truth and came to communicate that grace and truth to us. Here, John the Evangelist contrasts the grace of the Old Covenant and that of the New. The Old Covenant had the Law of Moses, which taught the people the difference between right and wrong, the sacred and the profane, and the pure and the impure. But, as Saint Paul will teach, the Law of Moses and the Old Covenant were incapable of empowering Israel to fulfill the Law, remain righteous, and stay in a covenantal relationship with God. That changes with the coming of the Word of God: grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus brings us the truth about God and man. Jesus brings the gift of God’s grace and bestows it upon us. With our minds enlightened by divine truth and our wills strengthened by divine grace, we can live as children of God. One day, we hope that the unmerited grace of God will give way to the glorious vision of God.

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?