What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life— 2 for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.
The Word was with God the Father from all eternity and was present at creation. He is the life and light of the world (John 1:1-4). The Word of life became incarnate by the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk. 1:35) and was heard, seen, looked at, and touched by the disciples, and their testimony as witnesses is true (Jn. 1:14). The author reaffirmed the dual natures of Jesus Christ, similar to the evangelist John’s description of the Logos (Jn. 1:1). God is physically present in the community in Jesus Christ (Jn. 10:30). In the OT, the presence of God was carried by the Hebrews in the Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 25:8). The disciples were witnesses to the physical presence of the light who testified, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die (Jn. 11:25-26).”
The authors of this Epistle and the Gospel of John are anonymous, but tradition assigns both works to the Apostle John. The author asserts that he is a witness to the Word of life in the flesh, Jesus Christ. He wrote to the Christian community about what he and the disciples had seen, what they had touched, and what had been revealed to them. His proclamation of the Good News was to establish a bond of fellowship between those he addressed and the apostles. Through their connection with the apostles, who themselves shared fellowship with Jesus, they could, in turn, experience communion with God through Christ. Jesus assumed human nature to secure eternal life for humanity through His death and resurrection. By sacrificing Himself and shedding his blood, he redeemed humanity from sin. Through redemption, individuals gain the capacity to live according to the teachings of Christ, avoid sinful behavior, and attain salvation. (1 Jn. 1:6-7). John wrote his message to invite others into fellowship with believers, with God the Father, and with Jesus Christ, resulting in complete joy (Jn. 15:11).
Gracious God, thank you for revealing Your eternal Word through Jesus Christ who invites us to fellowship with you and each other. Grant us the grace to share Jesus’ message with others through fellowship with you so that our joy may be complete. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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