For many years, actually many centuries, the Catholic Mass was concluded with the priest’s reading of the opening verses of the Gospel according to St. John which begins, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…” At first these lines were possibly a private prayer of thanksgiving offered by the celebrant as he walked back to the sacristy. They were eventually formally included in the liturgy including the phrase “…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…,” at which point the entire congregation would follow the priest’s lead and genuflect. This so-called Last Gospel is not included on the present Roman Rite.
The opening words of the Fourth Gospel account are indeed vital to the grasping of the full depth of this unique Gospel story. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Yes, indeed, “the Word was God.” This heady conclusion is the whole point of St. John’s evangelical recollections. At the end of chapter 20 – which some believer might have been the account’s original close – the Beloved Disciple has written: “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.” Yes, “that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God,” is clearly the message of the Fourth Gospel from beginning to end.
So St. John begins his Gospel recollections stating that “the Word was God;” and he concludes his version of the Good News writing that “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.” Clearly the Divinity of Jesus Christ and the acceptance of that Divinity by every believer is the burden of the Beloved Disciple’s inspired writings.
While St. John makes his point for Christ’s Godhead powerfully at the opening and closing of his writing, the same message is revealed chapter after chapter in St. John’s recollections. After Cana, “the disciples began to believe in him.” St. Andrew early on informs his brother St. Peter, “We have found the Messiah.” A stunned St. Nathanael answers, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” The Samaritan woman shows some initial faith, “Could he possibly be the Messiah?” St. Peter also chimed in, “We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
The man born blind is convincingly won over. Christ “found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.” St. Martha notably makes her act of faith in Christ: “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” St. Mary Magdalen makes the first post-resurrection act of faith in Jesus: “Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And as this Sunday’s Gospel reading will reveal, the doubting St. Thomas offers probably the Scripture’s most famous act of faith in the Divinity of Christ: “Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
For many decades, the Catholic faithful were encouraged to gaze at the consecrated Host raised aloft by the priest during the Eucharistic prayer whispering St. Thomas’ solemn words, “My Lord and My God!” In the renewed liturgy, the congregation is expected at this moment to make a broader declaration of faith in the whole Pascal Mystery: “When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.” Yes, the assembled faithful acknowledge the saving work of Jesus Christ — Passion, Death, and Resurrection — as the sole and saving source of redemption and renewal, the task of the unique Son of God, the Word made flesh, truly Present in the sanctified Host and precious Blood. Jesus himself embraced all later believers who would accept his Divinity and his saving work through the Church’s teachings: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
St. John summarized his whole evangelical ministry in these words: “These are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.” Now through the Scriptures, through the sacraments, and through a sanctified life, the modern believer may come ever more deeply to appreciate the Divine Presence and power of the Son of God and his saving work proclaimed boldly by St. John and carried on by the Church.
