Jn 1:1-18
[or Jn 1:1-5, 9-14]
1In the beginning was the Word,/ and the Word was with God,/ and the Word was God./ 2He was in the beginning with God./ 3All things came to be through him,/ and without him nothing came to be./ What came to be 4through him was life,/ and this life was the light of the human race;/ 5the light shines in the darkness,/ and the darkness has not overcome it.
9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10He was in the world,/ and the world came to be through him,/ but the world did not know him./ 11He came to what was his own,/ but his own people did not accept him.
12But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision but of God.
14And 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.
Reflection
The Word became flesh: This is the climax of John’s prologue, the very heart of his gospel, and the essence of Christianity. The incarnation is the ultimate manifestation of God’s Word in human history. Jesus is God’s Word made flesh. He became one with us in everything but sin (Heb 4:15). “Made his dwelling among us” literally means “pitched his tent among us.” It recalls passages in the book of Exodus (25:8-9) and the book of Numbers (35:34) stating that the Lord once dwelt with the Israelites in the Tent of Meeting. The Word dwelt among us as a “living tent,” Jesus. “Made his dwelling” is sometimes misinterpreted as temporary living. This is not, however, supported by its usage in the Old Testament and in the book of Revelation. For John, God chose to dwell among human beings: the eternal Word assumed human nature.