NOTES for Joh 1:1-18
Here the evangelist John speaks about the essence of what he witnessed: the earthly life of Jesus Christ. Looking back sixty years after the events described, he sees and names the main thing: the pre-eternal Logos, the One in whom the whole meaning of the universe and the whole design for creation dwell, the One who is God, became incarnate, humbled His life to human life, and dwelt on earth, communicating with John and other contemporaries. Here, into our world, descended the fullness of grace and truth, becoming visible, audible, tangible, revealing to all that human flesh can contain the presence of God, can be pure from sin, can be raised to eternal life. The very word "glory," "the glory of God," means the visible, comprehensible manifestation of the invisible and incomprehensible God, not merely a symbol but the fact of His active presence. And the apostle John bears witness to this manifestation of God Himself in the person, the hypostasis in patristic terminology, of the only-begotten Son: the Son of God and the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.
Here two questions arise. The first: do we believe this testimony? This is not easy, for we are used to having everything proved to us, thereby being forced to agree, while here there is and can be no proof, no coercion. One must make one's own decision, a completely free one...
And the second question: even if all this happened, does it have any relation to my life? If we think carefully, all this reveals to us how high human life can be, how full of meaning and righteousness. More than that: if there is the presence of God in this world, then one can enter into it; and if God was able to enter a human body, then He can enter us as well. Thus a two-way union of our life with God's life, eternal life, is possible. Quite significant, is it not?