The Gospel of
John was written around A.D. 90–95 by someone who calls himself “the Beloved
Disciple.” Did this disciple think Jesus loved him more than he loved the
others? No. Rather, this name reveals to us this disciple’s deepest identity,
which is also the deepest identity of each one of us. Our identity is not, as
people often think, our role or what we do. Our deepest need is to be loved,
and our deepest identity is to be the beloved of Jesus.
The author of
this Gospel is most likely John, the brother of James; both were sons of
Zebedee. Through Ireneaus and Clement of Alexandria in the early Church, we
understand that he was the disciple who rested on the heart of Jesus, and who
received Mary at the foot of the cross as his mother. In the early third
century, Origen said that to understand this Gospel one must first have rested
on the heart of Jesus and taken Mary as one’s mother.
The author of
this Gospel seeks historical accuracy about dates, time, places, and Jewish
feast days. He is deeply Jewish, infused by the vision and the spirituality of
the Torah, the prophets, and the books of wisdom. John, deeply rooted in
Judaism, is a privileged witness to Jesus - to his life, his vision, and his
person.
Why Was
This Gospel Written?
Why did John
write this book? He explains clearly, at the end of chapter 20, that it was
written “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God,
and that in believing you will have life in his name.” It was written that we will
have life! This is the Gospel of life, written so that we might become fully
living! What is this life? For Aristotle, life is everything that moves and has
movement from within. But what does this life move toward?
For John,
life is relationship, life is communion - especially the life and communion in
God, with God, and with each other. The Gospel of John is the Gospel of
relationship, and it tells of a growing relationship with Jesus. It
has a beginning. There is a meeting, which grows into a friendship. In
friendship we abide or dwell one in another. There is growth, and then there is
a fecundity, the desire to give life. In this Gospel of relationship, we learn
to grow in love. It is a spiritual journey; it is growth into a deeper communion
with Jesus, a friendship with Jesus and through him with his Father.
The big
question for us human beings is: Who is God, and who is Jesus? Growth comes
through the gradual discovery of the vulnerability of Jesus, the Word who
became flesh. It will be an emerging understanding that in his fragility, he is
giving us life. At the same time, through this Gospel, we will better
understand who we are, with our fragility, our vulnerability, our fears,
and our prejudices. We will come to understand our own need to be transformed
by Jesus, who came to reveal the Father to each of us.
The Gospel
of Transformation
This is not
only the Gospel of relationship but also of transformation. All relationships
start through the body. The first relationship is that between a mother and her
little baby, to whom she tenderly gives life. The mother says to the child
through gestures and words: “You are precious to me.” There can also be moments
of wounding, when the child does not meet the expectations of the mother, or the
mother does not respond to the needs of the child. Thus there are moments of
brokenness in their communion. A healthy relationship is not always simple. It
is not possessive or controlling, nor is it being absent. Relationship implies
a purification. The mother is called to respect the child profoundly, saying,
“You are different, and you are uniquely precious to me.” However, for the
mother to separate from the child, and to encourage the child to grow in
freedom, can be painful and difficult. She must be purified so that her child
can remain “other,” become fully himself or herself, and not be suffocated by
the relationship. Our humanity grows and develops in relationships through
which we are transformed and grow in freedom.
All this
happens in and through the body. John is very careful to make clear that Jesus
is fully human: There were moments when Jesus was tired or anguished. John
lived in an era when both within and outside the community of believers there
were those who denied that Jesus was really human. Therefore, the whole message
of John attempts to show that Jesus did have a physical body, and that presence
and communion are transmitted through the body. The Word became flesh. We will
discover through this Gospel that human beings need to be gradually
transformed, body and soul, to enter into a fullness of love.
This
Gospel Incorporates All That John Received from Mary
In this
Gospel, we discover something special. The last words of Jesus on the cross
are: “Woman, here is your son”; then he looks at John and says, “Here is your
mother.” It is said that “from that moment, he [John] took Mary as his own,” as
his treasure. Thereafter John lived with Mary.
As the mother
of Jesus, Mary naturally had an intimate physical relationship with him. Jesus
had lived nine months in her womb, had suckled at her breast, and was nourished
by her milk. Mary thus had a knowledge and experience of Jesus that nobody else
did. For about thirty years, she and Jesus lived together with Joseph.
Obviously,
the story told by John, about who Jesus is and who God is, will be uniquely
influenced by John’s relation- ship with Mary. Jesus said to John, “Here is
your mother.” He did not say, “Welcome my mother.” He said, “Here is your
mother.” Thus, we can assume that John carefully chose events to tell us
about Jesus in the light of the gentle understanding John received concerning
Jesus through his own special relationship with Mary.
This is an
excerpt from The Gospel of John, The Gospel of Relationship by Jean Vanier available now in paperback priced
£9.99.
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