OUR EXPERIENCE OF THE ETERNAL WORD

SAINT JOHN, APOSTLE, EVANGELIST

1 Jn 1:1-4; Ps 97:1-2,5-6,11-12; Jn 20:2-8

Eternal Life was made Visible

The third day of the Octave of Christmas is the feast of Saint John, the beloved Apostle of the Lamb. The first reading from the first letter of John gives us a testimony of their experience of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word. The Prologue of his Gospel has already given us insight into the pre-existence of the Word and his divinity, which he shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. So, he gives us a personal testimony to help our faith in the Incarnation of the Eternal Word. “Something which has existed since the beginning, that we have heard, and we have seen with our own eyes; that we have watched and touched with our hands: the Word, who is life—this is our subject.” Here, he brings us again to focus on the core of the mystery, which is very important for our salvation. We are celebrating the fact that the Word became flesh and lived among us. The Word has eternal existence with the Father and is the same that began to exist in time among us. As if to carry us along in his person and as a participant in our common humanity, he lends us his senses to have a concrete experience with the Word by using such expressions as: ‘we have heard’, ‘we have seen’, ‘we have watched and touched.’ Through these expressions, he also indicates that the communion of faith developed among those who went beyond physical experience to faith in the Word.

It is usual for the experience of a few members of the human family to develop into knowledge shared by all. Thus, John invites us to leverage the experience of the members of the Christian community to share in the faith and the knowledge the invisible presence of the Eternal Word can generate in us. “That life was made visible: we saw it and we are giving our testimony, telling you of the eternal life which was with the Father and has been made visible to us.” The experiments of a few scientists are usually sufficient to ground our knowledge, which we all implement and apply in our daily lives. We must never discredit our Christian faith or knowledge because we did not personally experience Jesus in his human flesh. Our Christian faith and doctrines remain effective in our daily living, even without our personal and physical encounter with the humanity of our Lord, just as scientific principles and laws are effective in our daily applications of them. The reality of the mystery of the Incarnation of the Eternal Word remains present to us through our faith and the doctrines the Church formulates and teaches to her children. John writes us based on this principle: “What we have seen and heard we are telling you so that you too may be in union with us, as we are in union with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” Living by the truth of their testimony, we share their communion with the Father and the Son.

The principle of the communion he invites us to share is the fact that truth is life. We consider being and truth as cognates. By this, we mean that we know being and not non-being. So, knowledge is about truth and can only be about what is real or in existence. Based on this metaphysical principle, John introduces the Word as life. “The Word, who is life—this is our subject.” Hence, believing in their testimony about their experience of the humanity of Jesus Christ, now formulated as doctrines of mysteries of faith, we share the same life with them through the truth of the Gospel. Further, since the revealed truth is about God the Father, our faith also brings us into communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The special witness of the resurrection of the crucified Lord we read in the Gospel is a confirmation of the truth Saint John intends to pass across to us. Life which is from the beginning with the Father, and took human flesh to dwell among us, died in the human nature he assumed to save us. The resurrection proves his divinity that we must believe to have eternal life. “Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.” The Word is life, and we possess eternal life by believing in the humanity he shared with us.  

Let us pray: O God, who through the blessed Apostle John have unlocked for us the secrets of your Word, grant, we pray, that we may grasp with proper understanding what he has so marvellously brought to our ears. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.