The opening words of John’s gospel are unlike the opening words of any of the other three gospels. Whereas the other gospels begin on earth, this gospel begins in heaven, ‘In the beginning was the Word: the Word was with God and the Word was God’. However, it doesn’t stay in heaven. It goes on to make that profound statement, ‘The Word was made flesh, he lived among us’. The evangelist is telling us that the Word who was with God before creation and who was God became a human being, who had a name and an address, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was God’s perfect Word to us. All that God wanted to say and was able to say in human language God said through Jesus, the only Son of God the Father. We are constantly immersed in a sea of words.

Words come at us all the time, from all sources. There are so many words coming at us that we have to discern which ones are worth paying attention to and which are not. However, there is one word that is worthy of our full attention, and that is the Word that God spoke and continues to speak to us through Jesus, his Son, the Word of God become flesh, become a human being.

In the language of the gospel reading, there is a fullness about this word which sets it apart from all other words. This word is full of grace and truth, full of God’s gracious love and fidelity. The Word become flesh wishes to pour out this fullness on all of us, all who are open to receive from it. The author of this passage confidently declares, ‘from his fullness, all of us, have received’.

We are all invited to belong among those who continue to receive from the fullness of God’s life and love present in Jesus, God’s beloved Son and our risen Lord. This coming year we commit ourselves anew to receiving all that God wants to give us through his Son, who declares in the course of John’s gospel, I have come that they may have life and have it to the full’.

Fr. Martin Hogan