In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

    He was in the beginning with God.

    All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

    The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

    There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

    He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.

    He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

    The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

    He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.

    He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.

    But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

    And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of God’s only son, full of grace and truth.

    (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’") From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

    The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

    No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known. [NRSV]

    These opening verses of the Gospel according to John are often called the prologue to the Gospel, for they function as an introduction to what follows. The prologue provides a rich commentary on the person and work of Jesus Christ.

    At its heart, this passage is Christological. It speaks of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, as God’s eternal Word. As such, Jesus Christ is Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer; revealing God’s love for and God’s presence with creation. Because all of the work performed by Jesus Christ throughout the Gospel of John is characterized by love, his actions in turn reveal the love God feels for all creation.

    Central is the idea of the pre-existence of the Word with God in heaven before creation. The act of creation through the Word-present-with-God is recalled and emphasized by the Word’s role as sustainer.

    Where the text mentions "darkness" there is allusion to the Fall, when humankind became alienated from God. Here the text alters the Word metaphor for Jesus Christ into that of Light, reference to Christ’s work as Redeemer of all that has been created. After the fall, the Word comes among creation in the form of Christ Jesus to work as the Redeemer bringing divine love to that which is lost.

    For the believer, the presence of the Word, Jesus Christ, empowers the believer to be God’s child. The redemption of God’s children through the action and presence of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, allows for the revelation of the unseen God to humankind and forms the basis for a renewed relationship in which the lost are returned to right relationship with God.

    During this year we should examine the ways in which we experience Christ in our midst, in one another and as we go about our lives recognizing that in so doing, we experience the presence of God.

    If we do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our text serves to introduce us to the redemptive and sustaining relationship God wants to have with each and every one of us and invites us to explore the possibilities that such a relationship offers to us.