Monthly Spiritual Message, December 2007
Fr Carl Schafer OFM
The prologue to St John’s Gospel (Jn 1:1-18) is a solemn hymn to the Word of God which brings together the basic themes of his entire gospel: the Word of God is Son of the Father. The eternal Word is life and light. The incarnate Word is grace and truth.
The structure of the hymn is very special. The verses follow the lines of the letter U, the Greek letter upsilon, which is the first letter of the Greek word meaning Son. “The only Son of the Father” crowns the hymn.
The first part presents the eternal Word as life and light and is addressed to all. The middle section describes unbelief and then faith which enables us to become sons of God. The last part presents the incarnate Word as grace and truth and is addressed first to the Jewish people.
The first nine verses follow the downstroke of the letter U. Verses 10 to 13 follow the curve. The last five verses follow the up-stroke, in reverse order of the verses on the downstroke.
(Please download the attachment for the diagram)
God made himself man, and became like us, even one of us. To those who lived near Jesus, he looked like a deeply spiritual religious man.”He worked with human hands, he thought with a human mind, acted by human choice, and loved with a human heart” (Gaudium et Spes 22).
Those who accept Jesus see the Son of God incarnated in the life of every person. The Second Vatican Council proclaimed him as “the focal point of the longings of history and of civilization, the centre of the human race, the joy of every heart, and the answer to all its yearnings” (GS 45). Of course, this is nonsense to those who do not accept him, as St John points out. We are talking nonsense to a great many people around us. Our actions speak louder to them than our words.
With Christ, our coming close to God has exceeded all hope. Jesus has made himself our brother. He has won for us entry into the family of God. We are sons and daughters of the one Father, his heirs, and guests at his table.
St John’s gospel outlines the personality of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, and reveals to us especially his obedience to the will of his Father. The gospel also shows his attractiveness as a leader and friend, his capacity to scrutinize hearts, his struggle against pharisaical duplicity, the power of his message to overturn the status quo. The gospel highlights his dedication to peace and service, his attention to people suffering, his love for the poor and his own life of poverty.
St Clare of Assisi caught that message when she wrote: “The King of the angels, the Lord of heaven and earth, is lying in a manger! What marvellous humility, what astonishing poverty!”
We compose our own hymn to the Word of God by the way we live:
The Word is life. If we are fading, let us take heart.
The Word is light. In darkness, let us light our lamp from him.
The Word is grace. If we are self-sufficient, let us repent.
The Word is truth. Clinging to our own opinion, let us reflect.
The Word is life and light, grace and truth.
The Word is love. If we harbour resentment, let us give it up.
The Word is joy. If we are depressed, let us rejoice in him.
The Word is peace. If we hold antipathies, let us be reconciled.
The Word is love, joy and peace.
Dear brothers and sisters, the eternal Word of God has been given to us as a human being. The Son of God the Father has been born to save us. St Francis loved Christmas day more than any other day of the year. He used to say, “The beloved most holy child has been given to us and has been born for our sake at the wayside and laid in a manger.”
May we find in his poverty true riches; in his littleness true greatness; and in his self-giving love for all.
Carl Schafer OFM
National Spiritual Assistant SFO – Oceania
