It all begins with God, and it will all end with God. This is the theme proclaimed in today’s Gospel from the Prologue to John’s Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” While everything begins and ends with God he desires that we have fellowship with him. Some accept that offer of fellowship others do not: “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.” Those who “know him” or “accept him” which means to put their faith in Jesus Christ experience a new creation:
“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.”
The key theme in this hymn is the incarnation: “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we have seen his glory.” This means that we have seen the one true God as the last line of today’s Gospel brings out: “No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.”
This key theological insight is brought out in Jesus’ dialogue with Philip at the Last Supper:
Jesus: “If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip: “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus: “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
As we begin today to read John’s Gospel today we come with the same request as Philip: “Master, show us the Father, show us God.” As we prayerfully read and encounter Jesus in John’s Gospel may we come to realize that “whoever has seen Jesus has seen the Father.”
Image: “The Creation Michelangelo Vatican Italy – Creative Commons by gnuckx” by gnuckx is marked with CC0 1.0.