From: Hebrews 1:1-6
The Greatness of the Incarnate Son of God
[1] In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the
prophets; [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son,
whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created
the world. [3] He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp
of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. When he
had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high, [4] having become as much superior to angels as the
name he has obtained is more excellent than theirs.
Proof from Sacred Scripture
[5] For to what angel did God ever say, "Thou art my Son, today I have
begotten thee"? Or again, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be
to me a son"? [6] And again, when he brings the first-born into the
world, he says, "Let all God's angels worship him."
Commentary:
1-4. The first four verses are a kind of prologue to the letter, which
does not carry the greetings and words of thanksgiving to God normally
found in letters of St Paul. Like the prologue of St John's Gospel, the
letter moves immediately into its main subject--the divinity of Jesus
Christ, our Redeemer. It speaks of Christ as a Son whose sonship is
eternal, prior to the creation of the world and to his Incarnation; it
speaks also of Christ's mission to save all men, a mission appropriate
to the Word who created all things. This exposition culminates in the
affirmation of Christ's absolute superiority over angels, a theme
dealt with, in different ways, up to the end of the second chapter.
The entire epistle in fact develops the subject entered on in the
prologue--the sublimity of Christ, the natural and eternal Son of God,
the universal Mediator, the eternal Priest. This is why St Thomas
Aquinas says that the subject matter of this epistle is the
"excellence" of Christ. In this respect the Letter to the Hebrews is
different from the other letters in the Pauline corpus: in some letters
(the "Great Epistles" and the Captivity Letters) the Apostle deals with
the grace which imbues the entire mystical body of the Church; others
(the Pastoral Letters) deal with the grace bestowed on certain members
of the Church (such as Timothy and Titus); whereas the Letter to the
Hebrews looks at grace as it is found in the Head of the mystical body,
Christ. This "excellence" of Christ the Angelic Doctor adds, is
examined by St Paul from four points of view: the first is that of
Christ's origin, which the sacred writer identifies by calling him
the true (natural, metaphysical) Son of God, when he says that God has
spoken to us by a Son; the second is that of his power, for he depicts
him as being made the heir of all things; the third is that of his
activity, when he affirms that he created the world; the fourth, his
sublime dignity, when he says that Christ reflects the glory of God
(cf. "Commentary on Heb.", Prologue and 1:1).
Christ is thus presented as the pinnacle and fullness of salvific
Revelation, as the Second Vatican Council reminds us: "After God had
spoken many times and in various ways through the prophets 'in these
last days he has spoken to us by a Son' (Heb 1:1-2). For he sent his
Son, the eternal Word who enlightens all men, to dwell among men and to
tell them about the inner life of God [...]. He did this by the total
fact of his presence and self-manifestation--by words and works, signs
and miracles, but above all by his death and glorious resurrection from
the dead, and finally by sending the Spirit of truth. He revealed that
God was with us, to deliver us from the darkness of sin and death, and
to raise us up to eternal life" ("Dei Verbum", 4).
1. Divine Revelation, which is rightly called "the Word of God",
develops in stages in the course of the Old and New Testaments. "By
this Revelation," Vatican II teaches, 'the invisible God (cf. Col 1:15;
1 Tim 1:17), from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his
friends (cf. Ex 33:11; Jn 15:14-15), and moves among men (cf. Bar 3:
38), in order to invite and receive them into his own company. This
economy of Revelation is realized by deeds and words, which are
intrinsically bound up with each other. As a result, the works
performed by God in the history of salvation show forth and bear out
the doctrine and realities signified by the words; the words, for their
part, proclaim the works, and bring to light the mystery they contain"
("Dei Verbum", 3). Revelation is, then, a gradual opening up of God's
mysteries whereby little by little, like a wise teacher, it makes known
who he is and what his plans are concerning the salvation of all
mankind. For, although there is only one God and one way of salvation,
man needs to be educated by means of many precepts and to progress by
stages on his way to God and so advance in faith towards complete
salvation in Christ. God in his mercy reveals his mysteries to man in
this way in order that the whole world experiencing "this saving
proclamation, on hearing it should believe, on believing it hope, on
hoping in it love" (St Augustine, "De Catechizandis Rudibus", 4, 8).
When speaking of Revelation, the First Vatican Council recalled that
although 'God, the origin and end of all things, can be known with
certainty by the natural light of human reason from the things that he
created, [...] it was, nevertheless, the good pleasure of his wisdom
and goodness to reveal himself and the eternal decrees of his will to
the human race in another and supernatural way" ("Dei Filius", Chap.
2). This supernatural revelation, as it says (reaffirming the
teaching of the Council of Trent), is contained in books and in oral
traditions which the Apostles received from Christ or from the Holy
Spirit and passed on to us. Christ's Gospel had earlier been promised
by the prophets and, more generally, by the entire Old Testament. The
epistle refers to this when it says that God spoke in the past through
the mouth of the prophets "in many ways", that is, at various stages in
the history of the chosen people, and "in various ways", that is, by
means of visions, words, actions and historical events.
2. "The most intimate truth which this revelation gives us about God
and the salvation of man shines forth in Christ, who is himself both
the mediator and the sum total of Revelation" ("Dei Verbum", 2).
St John of the Cross comments on this passage in a very beautiful and
profound way: "And this is as if he had said: That which God spoke of
old in the prophets to our fathers in sundry ways and divers manners,
he has now, at last, in these days, spoken to us once and for all in
the Son. Herein the Apostle declares that God has become, as it were,
dumb, and has no more to say, since that which he spoke before, in
part, to the prophets, he has now spoken altogether in him, giving us
the All, which is his Son.
"And so he who would now enquire of God, or seek any vision or
revelation would not only be acting foolishly, but would be committing
an offense against God, by not setting his eyes altogether upon Christ,
and seeking no new thing or aught beside. And God might answer him
after this manner, saying: 'If I have spoken all things to you in my
Word, which is my Son, and I have no other word, what answer can I now
make to you, or what can I reveal to you which is greater than this?
Set your eyes on him alone, for in him I have spoken and revealed to
you all things"' ("Ascent of Mount Carmel", Book 2, Chap. 22).
The "last days" refer to the period of time between the first coming of
Christ and the second coming, or Parousia. These days have begun
because the definitive "Word" of God, Jesus Christ, can be seen and
heard. Mankind already finds itself in the "last age", in the "end of
the ages" (cf. 1 Cor 10:11; Gal 4:4; Eph 1:10).
By speaking to us through his Son, God reveals to us his saving will
from the moment of the Incarnation onwards, for the second person of
the Blessed Trinity has come into the world to redeem us by dying for
us and to open for us the way to heaven by his glorification.
Therefore, Jesus Christ is the "prophet" par excellence (cf. note on Jn
7:40-43), for he perfects and completes God's merciful revelation. The
Incarnation and the subsequent events of our Lord's life are, like his
teaching, a source of salvation.
It was appropriate that the Son who perfectly revealed God the Father
should also be the divine Word, the Creator of the world (cf. Jn 1:3).
The creative action of the divine "Logos" or Word is not contradicted
by the statement that Creation is the work of God the Father, for
everything done by God outside himself ("ad extra") is an action common
to the three divine persons; nor is it correct to see the Word as
merely an instrument used by the Father, for he is one in substance
with him.
"It is the good Father's own, unique Word who has ordered this
universe. Being the good Word he has arranged the order of all things
[...]. He was with God as Wisdom; as Word he contemplated the Father
and created the universe, giving it substance, order and beauty" (St
Athanasius, "Oratio Contra Gentes", 40 and 46). Not only did the Word
make the Father manifest by creation; he, together with the Father and
the Holy Spirit, acted in the revelation of the Old Testament: in fact,
many patristic writers attributed to the Son--as "angel" or "messenger
of Yahweh"--the divine epiphanies witnessed by Moses and the prophets.
St Irenaeus writes, for example, that Christ prefigured and proclaimed
future events through his "Patriarchs and prophets", thereby acting in
his role as Teacher, promulgating the divine commandments and rules and
training his people to obey God the Father (cf. "Against Heresies",
XIV, 21). A profound harmony links God's revelation in Creation, in the
Old Testament and in the New Testament: in each case it is the same God
who is manifesting himself and the Word is ever actively involved. This
activity of the Word is hidden and happens through the prophets in the
Old Testament; whereas in the New the Word becomes flesh and acts
directly. This passage in Hebrews combines the revelation of Jesus
Christ as Mediator and maker of the universe (cf. Col 1:15-18; 1 Cor
8:6) with the idea that God has at last spoken to us in his Son, who
"is in the bosom of the Father", and has made known to us the invisible
mysteries of the Godhead (cf. Jn 1:18).
3a. These words, which describe Christ's divinity and eternity, recall
the passage in the Book of Wisdom which reads, "For she is a reflection
of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God" (Wis 7:26).
What the Old Testament described as an attribute of God is now revealed
as a personal being the second person of the Trinity, the incarnate
Word, Jesus Christ.
Using three images, the text teaches that Jesus Christ is perfect God,
identical to the Father. By saying that he "reflects" the glory of the
Father it means that he and the Father share the same nature--which is
what we profess in the Creed when we say that Jesus Christ, the
only-begotten Son of God, is "light from light, true God from true God"
(Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed). "The author means", St John
Chrysostom writes, "that Christ has this glory in his own right; it can
suffer no eclipse nor can it either increase or diminish" ("Hom. on
Heb.", 2).
The Son is also "stamped" with the nature of the Father; "stamp" is a
translation of the Greek word "character", which means the mark left by
a tool used to engrave or seal (for example, the impression of a seal
on wax, or the seal affixed to a document, or the brand used to
identify livestock). This word indicates two things--first, the perfect
equality between the mark and the seal which makes it, and second, the
permanence of the mark.
"Upholding the universe by his word of power": the Son, through whom all
things have been created, is also maintaining them in existence. God the
Father not only creates but, through the Son, maintains a continual,
direct influence on his creation; if he did not do so, as St Thomas
Aquinas explains, the world would revert into non-being: "If the divine
power ceased to operate, existence would cease, the being and
subsistence of every created thing would end: (the Word) therefore
upholds all things in respect of their existence, and he sustains them
also by virtue of being the first cause of everything he has created"
("Commentary on Heb.", 1, 2). It makes sense that God the Father should
wish to keep the world in existence by means of the same Word by whom
he created it.
3b. This is the central message of the Epistle to the Hebrews: Christ,
the consubstantial Son of the Father, the perfect reflection of his
substance, who created all things and maintains them in existence, by
becoming man brought about purification for sins and by his sacrifice
was glorified and put at the right hand of the Father, receiving "the
name which is above every name" (cf. Phil 2:6-11; Jn 1:1, 3, 14). The
actions of Jesus Christ are a continuum of mercy and salvation which
extends from the creation of the world and mankind to the point where
he is seated in heaven at the right hand of the Father. Creation and
Redemption are mysteries intimately linked to each other. The Son, the
divine Word, is both Creator and Redeemer. "It is appropriate to speak
in the first instance", St Athanasius writes, "of the creation of the
universe and of God its Creator, in order correctly to appreciate the
fact that the new creation of this universe has been brought about by
the Word who originally created it. For there is no contradiction in
the Father's effecting the salvation of creatures by him through whom
they were created" ("De Incarnatione Contra Arianos", 1). This is why
the tradition of the Church, echoing certain references in the New
Testament (cf. Gal 6:15; 2 Cor 5:17; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10), describes
the Redemption as a "new creation".
To "sit down at the right hand of the Majesty" is equivalent to saying
"has the status of God": "Majesty" is a term of reverence used to refer
to God without naming him; thus, Jewish rabbis would refer to God as
"Lord", "the most High", "the Power", "Glory", etc. Sitting in the
presence of God was a prerogative of the Davidic kings (cf.2 Sam 7:18;
Ezek 44:3), and the person at the right hand was seen as occupying the
place of honor (cf. Ps 45: 10). Psalm 110 proclaims that God will have
the Messiah sit at his right hand, and at various times Christ referred
to that prophecy to assert that he was the Messiah and God (cf. Mt 22:
44; 26:63-65; Jn 5:17-18; 10:30-33). The exaltation of the Son to the
right hand of the Father was a constant theme of apostolic preaching
(cf. Acts 2:33; Rom 8:34; 1 Pet 3:22; Rev 3:21; Eph 1:20). As St John
Chrysostom comments, when St Paul says that the Son sat down at the
right hand of the Majesty he means principally to refer to the status
of the Son as equal to that of the Father. And when he says that he is
on high, in heaven, far from meaning to confine God within spatial
limits, he wants us to see God the Son, as Lord of the universe, raised
up to the very throne of his Father (cf. "Hom. on Heb.", 2).
4. The prologue ends with a very important statement, which introduces
the theme of the rest of the first chapter: Christ is superior to the
angels. To understand this comparison of Christ with the angels, one
needs to bear in mind the outlook of the Jews at the time. The period
immediately prior to the New Testament had seen a considerable
development of devotion to angels among the ordinary religious Jews;
with the result that this was the danger of Jesus, because he was a
man, in some way being seen as on a lower level than angels, who,
created beings though they are, are pure spirits. In the Acts of the
Apostles (cf. Act 23:9), we find the Pharisees in the Sanhedrin
surmising that St Paul's preaching may result from revelation given him
by an angel; and belief in the existence of angels was a point of
contention between Pharisees and Sadducees (cf. Acts 23:7). For this
reason the author of Hebrews wants to make it quite clear to Christians
of Jewish origin that Jesus is much more than an angelic being.
Christ is superior to angels, the inspired writer says, because he has
the title of Son, which is his by natural right. This name demonstrates
his divine nature, a nature superior to that of any visible or
invisible created being, whether material or spiritual, whether earthly
or angelic: something's name describes its essence and, particularly in
Sacred Scripture, name and essence are at times one and the same. Thus,
for example, the phrase "in the name of" (cf. Mt 28:19; Acts 3:6; 4:7;
4:12; etc.) refers not just to the authority or power of the person
named, but to the person himself. Jesus Christ, because he is the very
Son of God, is superior to angels by virtue of the glory due to his
eternal oneness with the Father. As eternal Son of God, to him belonged,
by right of inheritance, the title of Son and Lord. Moreover, after his
passion and resurrection he has "become" superior to angels by a new
title through his exaltation on high (cf. 1 Cor 15:24-27; Phil 2:9-11).
This passage refers primarily to Jesus' glorification as man; for the
words "having become as much superior to angels..." cannot refer, St
John Chrysostom points out, to his divine essence: by virtue of his
divinity the Son is equal to the Father and cannot be subject to
change, cannot "become" anything: he is eternally what he is by
generation from the Father: "Eternal Word by nature, he did not receive
his divine essence by way of inheritance. These words, which manifest
his superiority over the angels, can only refer to the human nature
with which he has been clothed: for it is that nature that is a created
one" ("Hom. on Heb.", 1).
On the essence of angels and what they are, see the note on Lk 1:11.
5. Ancient Hebrew exegesis of this verse of Psalm 2 took it in a
messianic sense: the Messiah or Anointed would be king of Israel and
would enjoy God's special protection. Therefore he merited being
called "Son of God", in the same kind of way, though more eminently, as
other kings and just men of Israel deserved the title. But in Hebrews
1:5 the verse is given a much more profound interpretation: the
Messiah, Jesus Christ, is the eternal Son of God, begotten "today",
that is, in the continuous present of the eternal Godhead. It is
affirming the generation of the Son by the Father in the bosom of the
Trinity, whereby the Son proceeds eternally from the Father and is his
mirror image. This form of generation is radically different from
physical generation, whereby one living being physically begets another
like unto himself; and it is also quite different from Creation,
whereby God makes everything out of nothing. It is different from
physical generation because, in the Holy Trinity, Father and Son
co-exist eternally and are one and the same and only God, not two gods.
It is different from Creation because the Son has not been made from
nothing but proceeds eternally from the Father.
God created angels in the context of time, as the Fourth Lateran
Council says in its profession of faith: "We firmly believe and profess
without qualification that there is only one true God [...], Creator of
all things visible and invisible, spiritual and corporeal, who, by his
almighty power, from the very beginning of time, has created both
orders of creatures in the same way out of nothing, the spiritual or
angelic world and the corporeal or visible universe. And afterwards he
formed the creature man, who in a way belongs to both orders, as he is
composed of spirit and matter" ("De Fide Catholica", Chap. 1).
The Son, on the other hand, proceeds from the Father eternally as light
rays come constantly from the sun or as water forms one single thing
with the spring from which it flows.
"These words have never been addressed to an angel," St Thomas Aquinas
comments, "but to Christ alone. In them three things may be observed.
First, the mode of origin, expressed in the word 'say'. It refers to a
type of generation which is not of the flesh but rather of a spiritual
and intellectual kind. Second, this generation has an altogether
singular character, for he says, 'Thou art my Son', as if saying that
although many others are called sons, being [God's] natural son is
proper to Him alone; others are called sons of God because they partake
of the Word of God. Third, this is not a temporal but an eternal
generation" ("Commentary on Heb.", 1, 3).
The quotation from Psalm 2 is completed by Nathan's prophecy to David
(2 Sam 7:14: "I will be his father, and he shall be my son"), which
announces that a descendant of David will be the Messiah and will ever
enjoy God's favor. But the Hebrews text also makes it much clearer that
the Messiah is the Son of God in the proper sense of the word--a son by
nature, and not by adoption (cf. Lk 1:32-33). In Christ, therefore, two
things combine: he is the Son of God and he is the Messiah King.
6. Here the words of Deuteronomy 32:43, identical with those of Psalm
97:7 as given in the Septuagint, are used to convey, as a divine
commandment addressed to spiritual beings, a directive to adore the
Son. This is a further proof of Christ's superiority: the angels are to
worship him. "This adoration shows his absolute superiority over
angels: it is the superiority of the master over his servants and his
slaves. When Jesus Christ left the bosom of his Father to enter this
world, God required his angels to worship him. This is what a monarch
does when he brings some great personage into his palace and wishes to
have him honored: he orders his dignitaries to bow in his presence
("Hom. on Heb.", 3).
This reference to "bringing the first-born into the world" is
consistently interpreted by the Fathers of the Church and by ancient
writers as a reference to the Incarnation. Some authors also see this
verse as referring to the second coming of Christ, when the world to
come, unlike the present world, will be totally subject to the
Redeemer. This interpretation connected with the end of time may
explain why the text of Deuteronomy 32:43 is used: that passage is
followed by reference to the last judgment by God.
Christ's human nature should be worshipped now and always by angels and
men alike, for by doing so they adore Jesus, who is one person--which
is divine--with two natures, one divine and one human; he is worshipped
as one: his divinity and his humanity are worshipped at one and the
same time.
This worship due to Christ over every created being is reminiscent of
what St Paul says in Philippians 2:10: "at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth", referring to
the glorified human nature of Christ. "It is fitting that the sacred
humanity of Christ should receive the homage, praise and adoration of
all the hierarchies of the angels and of all the legions of the blessed
in heaven" ([St] J. Escriva, "Holy Rosary", Second Glorious Mystery).
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.
From: John 1:1-18
Prologue
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
word was God. [2] He was in the beginning with God; [3] all things were
made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
[4] In him was life, and the life was the light of men. [5] The light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
[6] There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. [7] He came for
testimony to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through
him. [8] He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.
[9] The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world.
[10] He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the
world knew him not. [11] He came to his own home, and his own people
received him not. [12] But to all who received him, who believed in his
name, he gave power to become children of God; [13] who were born, not
of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of
God.
[14] And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and
truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the
father. [15] (John bore witness to him, and cried, "This was he of whom
I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before
me.'") [16] And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon
grace. [17] For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came
through Jesus Christ. [18] No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who
is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.
Commentary:
1-18. These verses form the prologue or introduction to the Fourth
Gospel; they are a poem prefacing the account of Jesus Christ's life on
earth, proclaiming and praising his divinity and eternity. Jesus is the
uncreated Word, God the Only-begotten, who takes on our human condition
and offers us the opportunity to become sons and daughters of God, that
is, to share in God's own life in a real and supernatural way.
Right through his Gospel St John the Apostle lays special emphasis on
our Lord's divinity; his existence did not begin when he became man in
Mary's virginal womb: before that he existed in divine eternity as
Word, one in substance with the Father and the Holy Spirit. This
luminous truth helps us understand everything that Jesus says and does
as reported in the Fourth Gospel.
St John's personal experience of Jesus' public ministry and his
appearances after the Resurrection were the material on which he drew
to contemplate God's divinity and express it as "the Word of God". By
placing this poem as a prologue to his Gospel, the Apostle is giving us
a key to understand the whole account which follows, in the same sort
of way as the first chapters of the Gospels of St Matthew and St Luke
initiate us into the contemplation of the life of Christ by telling us
about the virgin birth and other episodes to do with his infancy; in
structure and content, however, they are more akin to the opening
passages of other NT books, such as Col 1:15-20, Eph 1:13-14 and 1 Jn
1-4.
The prologue is a magnificent hymn in praise of Christ. We do not know
whether St John composed it when writing his Gospel, or whether he
based it on some existing liturgical hymn; but there is no trace of any
such text in other early Christian documents.
The prologue is very reminiscent of the first chapter of Genesis, on a
number of scores: 1) the opening words are the same: "In the
beginning..."; in the Gospel they refer to absolute beginning, that is,
eternity, whereas in Genesis they mean the beginning of Creation and
time; 2) there is a parallelism in the role of the Word: in Genesis,
God creates things by his word ("And God said ..."); in the Gospel we
are told that they were made through the Word of God; 3) in Genesis,
God's work of creation reaches its peak when he creates man in his own
image and likeness; in the Gospel, the work of the Incarnate Word
culminates when man is raised--by a new creation, as it were--to the
dignity of being a son of God.
The main teachings in the prologue are: 1) the divinity and eternity of
the Word; 2) the Incarnation of the Word and his manifestation as man;
3) the part played by the Word in creation and in the salvation of
mankind; 4) the different ways in which people react to the coming of
the Lord--some accepting him with faith, others rejecting him; 5)
finally, John the Baptist bears witness to the presence of the Word in
the world.
The Church has always given special importance to this prologue; many
Fathers and ancient Christian writers wrote commentaries on it, and
for centuries it was always read at the end of Mass for instruction and
meditation.
The prologue is poetic in style. Its teaching is given in verses, which
combine to make up stanzas (vv. 1-5; 6-8; 9-13; 14-18). Just as a stone
dropped in a pool produces ever widening ripples, so the idea expressed
in each stanza tends to be expanded in later verses while still
developing the original theme. This kind of exposition was much favored
in olden times because it makes it easier to get the meaning across--
and God used it to help us go deeper into the central mysteries of our
faith.
1. The sacred text calls the Son of God "the Word." The following
comparison may help us understand the notion of "Word": just as a
person becoming conscious of himself forms an image of himself in his
mind, in the same way God the Father on knowing himself begets the
eternal Word. This Word of God is singular, unique; no other can exist
because in him is expressed the entire essence of God. Therefore, the
Gospel does not call him simply "Word", but "the Word." Three truths
are affirmed regarding the Word--that he is eternal, that he is
distinct from the Father, and that he is God. ''Affirming that he
existed in the beginning is equivalent to saying that he existed before
all things" (St Augustine, "De Trinitate", 6, 2). Also, the text says
that he was with God, that is, with the Father, which means that the
person of the Word is distinct from that of the Father and yet the
Word is so intimately related to the Father that he even shares his
divine nature: he is one in substance with the Father (cf. "Nicean
Creed").
To mark the Year of Faith (1967-1968) Pope Paul VI summed up this truth
concerning the most Holy Trinity in what is called the "Creed of the
People of God" (n. 11) in these words: "We believe in our Lord Jesus
Christ, who is the Son of God. He is the eternal Word, born of the
Father before time began, and one in substance with the Father,
"homoousios to Patri", and through him all things were made. He was
incarnate of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, and was
made man: equal therefore to the Father according to his divinity, and
inferior to the Father according to his humanity and himself one, not
by some impossible confusion of his natures, but by the unity of his
person."
"In the beginning": "what this means is that he always was, and that he
is eternal. [...] For if he is God, as indeed he is, there is nothing
prior to him; if he is creator of all things, then he is the First; if
he is Lord of all, then everything comes after him--created things and
time" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St John", 2, 4).
3. After showing that the Word is in the bosom of the Father, the
prologue goes on to deal with his relationship to created things.
Already in the Old Testament the Word of God is shown as a creative
power (cf. Is 55:10-11), as Wisdom present at the creation of the world
(cf. Prov 8:22-26). Now Revelation is extended: we are shown that
creation was caused by the Word; this does not mean that the Word is an
instrument subordinate and inferior to the Father: he is an active
principle along with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The work of
creation is an activity common to the three divine Persons of the
Blessed Trinity: "the Father generating, the Son being born, the Holy
Spirit proceeding; consubstantial, co-equal, co-omnipotent and
co-eternal; one origin of all things: the creator of all things visible
and invisible, spiritual and corporal." (Fourth Lateran Council, "De
Fide Catholica", Dz-Sch, 800). From this can be deduced, among other
things, the hand of the Trinity in the work of creation and, therefore,
the fact that all created things are basically good.
4. The prologue now goes on to expound two basic truths about the
Word--that he is Life and that he is Light. The Life referred to here
is divine life, the primary source of all life, natural and
supernatural. And that Life is the light of men, for from God we
receive the light of reason, the light of truth and the light of glory,
which are a participation in God's mind. Only a rational creature is
capable of having knowledge of God in this world and of later
contemplating him joyfully in heaven for all eternity. Also the Life
(the Word) is the light of men because he brings them out of the
darkness of sin and error (cf. Is 8:23; 9:1-2; Mt 4:15-16; Lk 1:74).
Later on Jesus will say: "I am the light of the world; he who follows
me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (Jn
8:12; cf. 12:46).
Vv. 3 and 4 can be read with another punctuation, now generally
abandoned but which had its supporters in ancient times: "All things
were made through him, and without him nothing was made; in so far as
anything was made in him, he was the life and the life was the light of
men." This reading would suggest that everything that has been created
is life in the Word, that is, that all things receive their being and
activity, their life, through the Word: without him they cannot
possibly exist.
5. "And the darkness has not overcome it": the original Greek verb,
given in Latin as "comprehenderunt", means to embrace or contain as if
putting one's arms around it--an action which can be done with good
dispositions (a friendly embrace) or with hostility (the action of
smothering or crushing someone). So there are two possible
translations: the former is that given in the Navarre Spanish, the
latter that in the RSV. The RSV option would indicate that Christ and
the Gospel continue to shine among men despite the world's opposition,
indeed overcoming "it", as Jesus later says: "Be of good cheer: I have
overcome the world" (Jn 16:33; cf. 12:31; 1 Jn 5:4). Either way, the
verse expresses the darkness' resistance to, repugnance for, the light.
As his Gospel proceeds, St John explains further about the light and
darkness: soon, in vv. 9-11, he refers to the struggle between them;
later he will describe evil and the powers of the evil one, as a
darkness enveloping man's mind and preventing him from knowing God (cf.
Jn 12:15-46; 1 Jn 5:6).
St Augustine ("In Ioann. Evang.", 1, 19) comments on this passage as
follows: "But, it may be, the dull hearts of some cannot yet receive
this light. Their sins weigh them down, and they cannot discern it. Let
them not think, however, that, because they cannot discern it,
therefore it is not present with them. For they themselves, because of
their sins, are darkness. Just as if you place a blind person in the
sunshine, although the sun is present to him, yet he is absent from the
sun; in the same way, every foolish man, every unrighteous man, every
ungodly man, is blind in heart. [...] What course then ought such a one
to take? Let him cleanse the eyes of his heart, that he may be able to
see God. He will see Wisdom, for God is Wisdom itself, and it is
written: 'Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.'"
There is no doubt that sin obscures man's spiritual vision, rendering
him unable to see and enjoy the things of God.
6-8. After considering the divinity of the Lord, the text moves on to
deal with his incarnation, and begins by speaking of John the Baptist,
who makes his appearance at a precise point in history to bear direct
witness before man to Jesus Christ (Jn 1:15, 19-36; 3:22ff). As St
Augustine comments: "For as much as he [the Word Incarnate] was man and
his Godhead was concealed, there was sent before him a great man,
through whose testimony He might be found to be more than man" ("In
Ioann. Evang.", 2, 5).
All of the Old Testament was a preparation for the coming of Christ.
Thus, the patriarchs and prophets announced, in different ways, the
salvation the Messiah would bring. But John the Baptist, the greatest
of those born of woman (cf. Mt 11:11), was actually able to point out
the Messiah himself; his testimony marked the culmination of all the
previous prophecies.
So important is John the Baptist's mission to bear witness to Jesus
Christ that the Synoptic Gospels stage their account of the public
ministry with John's testimony. The discourses of St Peter and St Paul
recorded in the Acts of the Apostles also refer to this testimony (Acts
1:22; 10:37; 12:24). The Fourth Gospel mentions it as many as seven
times (1:6, 15, 19, 29, 35; 3:27; 5:33). We know, of course, that St
John the Apostle was a disciple of the Baptist before becoming a
disciple of Jesus, and that it was precisely the Baptist who showed him
the way to Christ (cf. 1 :37ff).
The New Testament, then, shows us the importance of the Baptist's
mission, as also his own awareness that he is merely the immediate
Precursor of the Messiah, whose sandals he is unworthy to untie (cf. Mk
1:7): the Baptist stresses his role as witness to Christ and his
mission as preparer of the way for the Messiah (cf. Lk 1:15-17; Mt 3:
3-12). John the Baptist's testimony is undiminished by time: he invites
people in every generation to have faith in Jesus, the true Light.
9. "The true light..." [The Spanish translation of this verse is along
these lines: "It was the true light that enlightens every man who comes
into the world."] The Fathers, early translations and most modern
commentators see "the Word" as being the subject of this sentence,
which could therefore be translated as "the Word was the true light
that enlightens every man who comes into the world...". Another
interpretation favored by many modern scholars makes "the light" the
subject, in which case it would read "the true light existed, which
enlightens...". Either way, the meaning is much the same.
"Coming into the world": it is not clear in the Greek whether these
words refer to "the light", or to "every man". In the first case it is
the Light (the Word) that is coming into this world to enlighten all
men; in the second it is the men who, on coming into this world, on
being born, are enlightened by the Word; the RSV and the new Vulgate
opt for the first interpretation.
The Word is called "the true light" because he is the original light
from which every other light or revelation of God derives. By the
Word's coming, the world is fully lit up by the authentic Light. The
prophets and all the other messengers of God, including John the
Baptist, were not the true light but his reflection, attesting to the
Light of the Word.
A propos the fullness of light which the Word is, St John Chrysostom
asks: "If he enlightens every man who comes into the world, how is it
that so many have remained unenlightened? For not all, to be sure,
have recognized the high dignity of Christ. How, then, does he
enlighten every man? As much as he is permitted to do so. But if some,
deliberately closing the eyes of their minds, do not wish to receive
the beams of this light, darkness is theirs. This is not because of the
nature of the light, but is a result of the wickedness of men who
deliberately deprive themselves of the gift of grace (Hom. on St.
John, 8, 1).
10. The Word is in this world as the maker who controls what he has
made (cf. St Augustine, "In Ioann. Evang.", 2, 10). In St John's Gospel
the term "world" means "all creation, all created things (including all
mankind)": thus, Christ came to save all mankind: "For God so loved the
world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world,
not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through
him" (Jn 3:16-17). But insofar as many people have rejected the Light,
that is, rejected Christ, "world" also means everything
opposed to God (cf. Jn 17:14-15). Blinded by their sins, men do not
recognize in the world the hand of the Creator (cf. Rom 1:18-20; Wis
13:1-15): "they become attached to the world and relish only the things
that are of the world" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St John", 7). But
the Word, "the true light", comes to show us the truth about the world
(cf. Jn 1:3; 18:37) and to save us.
11. "his own home, his own people": this means, in the first place, the
Jewish people, who were chosen by God as his own personal "property",
to be the people from whom Christ would be born. It can also mean all
mankind, for mankind is also his: he created it and his work of
redemption extends to everyone. So the reproach that they did not
receive the Word made man should be understood as addressed not only to
the Jews but to all those who rejected God despite his calling them to
be his friends: "Christ came; but by a mysterious and terrible
misfortune, not everyone accepted him. [...] It is the picture of
humanity before us today, after twenty centuries of Christianity. How
did this happen? What shall we say? We do not claim to fathom a reality
immersed in mysteries that transcend us--the mystery of good and evil.
But we can recall that the economy of Christ, for its light to spread,
requires a subordinate but necessary cooperation on the part of
man--the cooperation of evangelization, of the apostolic and missionary
Church. If there is still work to be done, it is all the more necessary
for everyone to help her" (Paul VI, General Audience, 4 December 1974).
12. Receiving the Word means accepting him through faith, for it is
through faith that Christ dwells in our hearts (cf. Eph 3:17).
Believing in his name means believing in his Person, in Jesus as the
Christ, the Son of God. In other words, "those who believe in his name
are those who fully hold the name of Christ, not in any way lessening
his divinity or his humanity" (St Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on St
John, in loc.").
"He gave power [to them]" is the same as saying "he gave them a free
gift"--sanctifying grace--"because it is not in our power to make
ourselves sons of God" ("ibid."). This gift is extended through Baptism
to everyone, whatever his race, age, education etc. (cf. Acts 10:45;
Gal 3:28). The only condition is that we have faith.
"The Son of God became man", St Athanasius explains, "in order that the
sons of men, the sons of Adam, might become sons of God. [...] He is
the Son of God by nature; we, by grace" ("De Incarnatione Contra
Arrianos"). What is referred to here is birth to supernatural life: in
which "Whether they be slaves or freemen, whether Greeks or barbarians
or Scythians, foolish or wise, female or male, children or old men,
honorable or without honor, rich or poor, rulers or private citizens,
all, he meant, would merit the same honor. [...] Such is the power of
faith in him; such the greatness of his grace" (St John Chrysostom,
"Hom. on St John", 10, 2).
"Christ's union with man is power and the source of power, as St John
stated so incisively in the prologue of his Gospel: '(The Word) gave
power to become children of God.' Man is transformed inwardly by this
power as the source of a new life that does not disappear and pass away
but lasts to eternal life (cf. Jn 4:14)" (John Paul II, "Redemptor
Hominis", 18).
13. The birth spoken about here is a real, spiritual type of generation
which is effected in Baptism (cf. 3:6ff). Instead of the plural adopted
here, referring to the supernatural birth of men, some Fathers and
early translations read it in the singular: "who was born, not of
blood...but of God", in which case the text would refer to the eternal
generation of the Word and to Jesus' generation through the Holy Spirit
in the pure womb of the Virgin Mary. Although the second reading is
very attractive, the documents (Greek manuscripts, early translations,
references in the works of ecclesiastical writers, etc.) show the
plural text to be the more usual, and the one that prevailed from the
fourth century forward. Besides, in St John's writings we frequently
find reference to believers as being born of God (cf. Jn 3:3-6; 1 Jn
2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18).
The contrast between man's natural birth (by blood and the will of man)
and his supernatural birth (which comes from God) shows that those who
believe in Jesus Christ are made children of God not only by their
creation but above all by the free gift of faith and grace.
14. This is a text central to the mystery of Christ. It expresses in a
very condensed form the unfathomable fact of the incarnation of the Son
of God. "When the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of
woman" (Gal 4:4).
The word "flesh" means man in his totality (cf. Jn 3:6; 17:2; Gen 6:3;
Ps 56:5); so the sentence "the Word became flesh" means the same as
"the Word became man." The theological term "incarnation" arose mainly
out of this text. The noun "flesh" carries a great deal of force
against heresies which deny that Christ is truly man. The word also
accentuates that our Savior, who dwelt among us and shared our nature,
was capable of suffering and dying, and it evokes the "Book of the
Consolation of Israel" (Is 40:1-11), where the fragility of the flesh
is contrasted with the permanence of the Word of God: "The grass
withers, the flower fades; but the Word of our God will stand for ever"
(Is 40:8). This does not mean that the Word's taking on human nature is
something precarious and temporary.
"And dwelt among us": the Greek verb which St John uses originally
means "to pitch one's tent", hence, to live in a place. The careful
reader of Scripture will immediately think of the tabernacle, or tent,
in the period of the exodus from Egypt, where God showed his presence
before all the people of Israel through certain sights of his glory
such as the cloud covering the tent (cf., for example, Ex 25:8;
40:34-35). In many passages of the Old Testament it is announced that
God "will dwell in the midst of the people" (cf., for example, Jer 7:3;
Ezek 43:9; Sir 24:8). These signs of God's presence, first in the
pilgrim tent of the Ark in the desert and then in the temple of
Jerusalem, are followed by the most wonderful form of God's presence
among us--Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect Man, in whom the
ancient promise is fulfilled in a way that far exceeded men's greatest
expectations. Also the promise made through Isaiah about the "Immanuel"
or "God-with-us" (Is 7:14; cf. Mt 1:23) is completely fulfilled through
this dwelling of the Incarnate Son of God among us. Therefore, when we
devoutly read these words of the Gospel "and dwelt among us" or pray
them during the Angelus, we have a good opportunity to make an act of
deep faith and gratitude and to adore our Lord's most holy human
nature.
"Remembering that 'the Word became flesh', that is, that the Son of God
became man, we must become conscious of how great each man has become
through this mystery, through the Incarnation of the Son of God! Christ,
in fact, was conceived in the womb of Mary and became man to reveal the
eternal love of the Creator and Father and to make known the dignity of
each one of us" (John Paul II, "Angelus Address" at Jasna Gora Shrine,
5 June 1979).
Although the Word's self-emptying by assuming a human nature concealed
in some way his divine nature, of which he never divested himself, the
Apostles did see the glory of his divinity through his human nature: it
was revealed in the transfiguration (Lk 9:32-35), in his miracles (Jn
2:11; 11:40), and especially in his resurrection (cf. Jn 3:11; 1 Jn
1:1) The glory of God, which shone out in the early tabernacle in the
desert and in the temple at Jerusalem, was nothing but an imperfect
anticipation of the reality of God's glory revealed through the holy
human nature of the Only-begotten of the Father. St John the Apostle
speaks in a very formal way in the first person plural: "we have beheld
his glory", because he counts himself among the witnesses who lived
with Christ and, in particular, were present at his transfiguration and
saw the glory of his resurrection.
The words "only Son" ("Only-begotten") convey very well the eternal and
unique generation of the Word by the Father. The first three Gospels
stressed Christ's birth in time; St John complements this by
emphasizing his eternal generation.
The words "grace and truth" are synonyms of "goodness and fidelity",
two attributes which, in the Old Testament, are constantly applied to
Yahweh (cf., e.g., Ex 34:6; Ps 117; Ps 136; Osee 2:16-22): so, grace is
the _expression of God's love for men, the way he expresses his goodness
and mercy. Truth implies permanence, loyalty, constancy, fidelity.
Jesus, who is the Word of God made man, that is, God himself, is
therefore "the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth"; he is
the "merciful and faithful high priest" (Heb 2:17). These two
qualities, being good and faithful, are a kind of compendium or summary
of Christ's greatness. And they also parallel, though on an infinitely
lower level, the quality essential to every Christian, as stated
expressly by our Lord when he praised the "good and faithful servant"
(Mt 25:21).
As Chrysostom explains: "Having declared that they who received him
were 'born of God' and 'become sons of God,' he then set forth the
cause and reason for this ineffable honor. It is that 'the Word became
flesh' and the Master took on the form of a slave. He became the Son of
Man, though he was the true Son of God, in order that he might make the
sons of men children of God. ("Hom. on St John", 11,1).
The profound mystery of Christ was solemnly defined by the Church's
Magisterium in the famous text of the ecumenical council of Chalcedon
(in the year 451): "Following the holy Fathers, therefore, we all with
one accord teach the profession of faith in the one identical Son, our
Lord Jesus Christ. We declare that he is perfect both in his divinity
and in his humanity, truly God and truly man, composed of body and
rational soul; that he is consubstantial with the Father in his
divinity, consubstantial with us in his humanity, like us in every
respect except for sin (cf. Heb 4:15). we declare that in his divinity
he was begotten in this last age of Mary the Virgin, the Mother of God,
for us and for our salvation" (Dz-Sch, n. 301).
15. Further on (On Jn 1:19-36) the Gospel tells us more about John the
Baptist's mission as a witness to the messiahship and divinity of
Jesus. Just as God planned that the Apostles should bear witness to
Jesus after the resurrection, so he planned that the Baptist would be
the witness chosen to proclaim Jesus at the very outset of his public
ministry (cf. note on Jn 1:6-8).
16 "Grace upon grace": this can be understood, as it was by Chrysostom
and other Fathers, as "grace for grace", the Old Testament economy of
salvation giving way to the new economy of grace brought by Christ. It
can also mean (as the-RSV suggests) that Jesus brings a superabundance
of gifts, adding on, to existing graces, others--all of which pour out
of the one inexhaustible source, Christ, who is for ever full of grace.
"Not by sharing with us, says the Evangelist, does Christ possess the
gift, but he himself is both fountain and root of all virtues. He
himself is life, and light, and truth, not keeping within himself the
wealth of these blessings, but pouring it forth upon all others, and
even after the outpouring still remaining full. He suffers loss in no
way by giving his wealth to others, but, while always pouring out and
sharing these virtues with all men, he remains in the same state of
perfection" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St John", 14, 1).
17. Here, for the first time in St John's Gospel, the name of Jesus
Christ appears, identified with the Word of whom John has been
speaking.
Whereas the Law given by Moses went no further than indicate the way
man ought follow (cf. Rom 8:7-10), the grace brought by Jesus has the
power to save those who receive it (cf. Rom 7:25). Through grace "we
have become dear to God, no longer merely as servants, but as sons and
friends" (Chrysostom, "Hom. on St John", 14, 2).
On "grace and truth" see note on Jn 1:14.
18. "No one has ever seen God": in this world men have never seen God
other than indirectly: all that they could contemplate was God's
"glory", that is the aura of his greatness: for example, Moses saw the
burning bush (Ex 3:6); Elijah felt the breeze on Mount Horeb--the
"still small voice" (RSV)--(1 Kings 19:11-13). But in the fullness of
time God comes much closer to man and reveals himself almost directly,
for Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God (cf. Col
1:15), the maximum revelation of God in this world, to such an extent
that he assures us that "he who has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn
14:9). "The most intimate truth which this revelation gives us about
God and the salvation of man shines forth in Christ, who is himself
both the mediator and the sum total of Revelation" (Vatican II, "Dei
Verbum", 2).
There is no greater revelation God could make of himself than the
incarnation of his eternal Word. As St John of the Cross puts it so
well: "In giving to us, as he has done, his Son, who is his only Word,
he has spoken to us once and for all by his own and only Word, and has
nothing further to reveal" ("Ascent of Mount Carmel", Book II, chap.
22).
"The only Son": the RSV note says that "other ancient authorities read
"God" (for Son); the Navarre Spanish has "the Only-begotten God" and
comments as follows: some Greek manuscripts and some translations give
"the Only-begotten Son" or "the Only-begotten". "The Only-begotten God"
is preferable because it finds best support in the codexes. Besides,
although the meaning does not change substantially, this translation
has a richer content because it again explicitly reveals Christ's
divinity.
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.
With the shepherds we hurry to the manger and adore the Incarnate Son of God, who for us and for our salvation descended upon earth. The purpose of the Christmas feast is beautifully expressed in the Preface of the Nativity: "For by the mystery of the Word made flesh the light of Thy glory hath shone anew upon the eyes of our mind; so that while we acknowledge Him a God seen by men, we may be drawn by Him to the love of things unseen." 
The Christmas tree, of which the first-known mention was made in 1605 at Strasbourg, was introduced into France and England in 1840. It symbolizes the great family tree of Christ which through David and Jesse has its roots in Abraham, the father of the chosen race. It is often laden with gifts to remind us that Christmas brought us the priceless gifts of grace and of eternal life. It is frequently adorned with lights that recall to us that Christ is the Light of the world enlightening those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. 
