Season of Epiphany
Second Sunday: John 1:14-18
INTRODUCTION
In the magnificent prologue to his gospel,
John the Evangelist presents Jesus as the preexistent Word of God, who
in the fullness of time became a human like us. Like God “tabernacled”
among the Israelites during the Old Testament times, the Son of God also
dwelt among us as Jesus of Nazareth. People could see his glory. He
showed God’s grace through his miracles of mercy and spoke the truth
about God. John the Baptist testified for Jesus as one ranking ahead of
him. Jesus manifested God’s grace and perfected the Mosaic Law. Only he
could show us the truth of heaven because he came from the Father, and
only he had seen the Father.
BIBLE TEXT
(John 1:14) And the Word became flesh; he
pitched his tent among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the
only Son coming from the Father, full of grace and truth. (15) John bore
witness to him openly, saying, “This is the one of whom I said: ‘The one
who comes after me ranks ahead of me for he existed before me.’” (16)
From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. (17) For the
Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ. (18) No one has ever seen God, but the only Son made him known,
the one who is closest to the heart of the Father.
INTERPRETATION
Foreword of John’s Gospel
(14) And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.
The Word became flesh.
Made his dwelling among us.
During the Exodus, Israelites had God’s tent
or tabernacle amid their tents. That was God’s meeting place with his
chosen people, and His glory was visible there (Exodus 25:8). God’s
presence continued in the Solomon’s Temple. Once the Babylonians
destroyed the Temple because of the Israelites’ sins, God’s glorious
presence departed from them. It did not return in the reconstructed
Temple by governor Zerubbabel
and later by King Herod the Great. The incarnate Word in the human form
was the new mode of God’s presence among his people. That was a better
presence because unlike the Old Testament period, this presence of God
was more tangible and accessible to all people.
We saw his glory.
The glory of the Lord
means a manifestation of God’s presence. The rabbis call it Shekinah,
which means “that which dwells.” Though the Bible does not use that
term, the rabbis coined it to signify God’s dwelling on the earth. It
was first visible when the Israelites left from Succoth escaping from
Egypt. The Lord appeared to them in a cloudy pillar during the day and a
fiery pillar by night (Exodus 13:20–22). The Lord’s glory later filled
the tabernacle. “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the
glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:34). This glorious
presence of God continued in the Temple of Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:10–11).
Seeing the glory of God does not mean seeing
God face to face as we see one another. “Now, as soon as Moses entered
the Tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance
to the Tent, while the LORD would speak with Moses.” (Exodus 33:9).
Though Exodus 33:11 says, “Then the LORD would speak to Moses face to
face, as a man speaks with his friend,” what Moses saw was not God’s
face but a column of cloud. It was visible also to the Israelites. “When
all the people saw the pillar of cloud at the entrance to the Tent, they
would arise and worship, each one at the entrance to his own tent.”
(Exodus 33:10).
Moses requested God to allow him to see His
glory (Exodus 33: 18). God’s response was, “But you cannot see my face,
for no one can see me and live.” (Exodus 33:20). It is like no one can
look at the sun with naked eyes at noon and preserve the eyesight. So,
God allowed Moses to see only God’s back (Exodus 33:23). Jesus Christ
affirmed that “No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at
the Father’s side, has revealed him.” (John 1:18).
In the New Testament, we see God’s glory in
Jesus because God dwelt among us through the incarnation of Jesus.
According to St. Paul, “For in him dwells the fullness of God in bodily
form.” (Colossians 2:9). So, Jesus said to Philip, “Whoever has seen me
has seen the Father.” (John 14:9). Since Jesus came to this world in a
humble human form, people did not see his full divine glory because they
see him with their human eyes. Peter, James, and John saw his glory on a
mountain, and it terrified them (Matthew 17:1-13). So, John says, “And
the Word became flesh; he pitched his tent among us, and we have seen
his glory, the glory of the only Son coming from the Father, full of
grace and truth.” (John 1:14). We will see Jesus and his Father as they
are in their full glory when Christ reappears (1 John 3:2).
Glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace
and truth.
Jesus manifested his glory through the
miracles he performed. The miracle of turning water into wine at Cana
was the beginning of showing his glory. “This miraculous sign was the
first that Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. In this way he manifested
his glory and his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:11). The disciples
believed in Jesus as the Messiah because of these signs of glory. The
glory that Jesus revealed was also the glory of his Father. Before
rising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus said, “This illness will not end in
death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be
glorified through it.” (John 11:4). Jesus shared his glory with his
disciples (John 17:22).
Grace
When a child makes a mistake and becomes
helpless, the parent rescues the child even at a loss or suffering. God
the Father sent his only Son Jesus to do the same for His children who
are in a helpless situation. So, Jesus fought for us against the devil,
suffered for our cause by taking up our iniquities upon himself, and
offered himself as the sin offering for us. Without Jesus, we could not
achieve this.
No other religion has a god that would show
such grace to the believers. Humbling himself as a suffering person,
sacrificing for the faithful, and forgiving the faults of those who hurt
him are characteristics of this incarnate God.
We cannot achieve grace by ourselves. So
Jesus did it for us sinners. The imitation of Christ is taking up the
acts of Jesus’ grace or mercy in our lives. The mercy that the father
showed to his prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), the rescue and forgiveness
Jesus gave to an adulterous lady brought to him for stoning to death
(John 8:1-11), Jesus’ prayer for the forgiveness of those who crucified
him (Luke 23:34) are examples for us to learn from the mercy of Jesus.
Truth
Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and
the life” (John 14:6). Jesus identified himself with the truth. He did
not just talk about God, instead, he showed how God was like. There were
many false leaders during Jesus’ public ministry. But they were the
blind leading the blind (Matthew 15:14). Jesus is the only truth because
he is God. “Jesus went on to say to the Jews who believed in him, ‘If
you live in my word, you will indeed be my disciples. Then you will know
the truth and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8: 31-32).
The lie might give a temporary escape; but
will not last and will lead to destruction. Jesus told the truth, and
the enemies crucified him. That later paved way for his victory over
death. The martyrs of the church and many other Christians stood for the
truth and suffered. They still live in heaven and in the devotions of
the believers. Being truthful to our doctor, confessor, lawyer, parent,
or friend is necessary for our success in destress. The lie of the devil
brought punishment to humanity. The truth of Jesus leads us to victory
over devil and sin.
(15) 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.’”
John was six months older than Jesus. Still,
Jesus existed before John because Jesus the Word was with God before the
foundation of the world. John acknowledges his inferiority before Jesus.
(16) From his
fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace.
There are three variants of translations for
this verse. When we read “grace in the place of grace,” it can mean the
new covenant of Jesus replacing the old one of Moses. If we translate
“grace upon grace,” it means accumulating the grace of Jesus over the
grace received through Moses. Another translation is “grace for grace,”
which can mean the grace of Jesus corresponding to the grace given
through Moses. When we view it independently of the old Law given
through Moses, the meaning is that through Jesus we receive plenty of
grace one after another.
(17) Because while
the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ.
Before the coming of Jesus, the Mosaic Law
governed the Israelites. Regardless of their like or dislike, whether or
not they understood, they had to keep the laws, like slaves obeying
their masters. However, Jesus perfected the Law by making it as the
loving guidance of a father to his children. So, in the place of God as
a mere lawgiver and judge, Jesus presented God as a loving parent.
(18) No one has ever
seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed
him.
No one has ever seen
God.
At the Father’s side
MESSAGE
1. We are fortunate to experience God in our
midst. Though we cannot see Jesus in the human form at present, we see,
listen, and receive him during the Holy Mass.
2. The grace of God came to us through Jesus.
He shared that with his apostles and their successors, who handed it
over to us. We need to extend the same grace we received to our fellow
humans by our acts of mercy and self-sacrifice.
3. Jesus is the truth that will set us free.
Let us follow the true teachings of Jesus so we are in the right
direction to heaven.