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John's dawning revelationFriday, December 27, 2002
1 John 1:1-2 Along the way of watching this hero live out his life, John also came to the conclusion, by now unalterable, that Jesus was God. More than any of the other gospel writers he speaks of this as fact, as certainty, and as a more important fact than any other. Jesus was not just a human hero; he was also resurrected from the dead. He ascended into heaven. He called himself the Son of Man, but more importantly he was the Son of God. He was with God, he was God (John 1). This disciple doesn't beat around any bush. Jesus is "the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us." Jesus tells us we too can have eternal life, but he is eternal life. John did not grasp this "incarnation*" the moment he met Jesus. It become more clear to him as he grew older. Does it also become more clear to me? Clear doesn't seem like the right word. Maybe not "clear," but certainly more powerful and more true. The fact of Jesus' incarnation is what draws me into the universe centered on God rather than on myself. It is what continues to draw me day after day, more powerful than any other truth, any other experience, any other life. Lord, dawn on me like you dawned on John. And when the tiny trickle of light becomes a flood, save me and teach me to rejoice even in the midst of awe, terror, fear. *Incarnation: the embodiment of God in the human form of Jesus. |
When John writes this he's an old man. He has seen Jesus preach, work miracles, die on a cross. He's listened to him shred complex arguments with simple stories and seen his eyes penetrate into the depths of both enemies and friends. He has been moved by Jesus' compassion and kindness, his sympathy, his unerring forgiveness, his lack of self-centeredness.