Johannine Advent: John 1:4-5 & 16

With the start of the second week of Advent yesterday, we began the theme of Peace, and we begin a new set of readings and prayers in our Advent Daily Office. We continue in John’s prologue, and for the first half of the week we settle on verses 4&5, paired with verse 16. The Old Testament texts are from Isaiah.

John 1:4-5, JBP, JB Margin
     In him appeared life,
          and this life was the light of mankind.
     The light still shines in the darkness,
          and the darkness has never grasped it.

Isaiah 9:2-7 (A great light appears in the darkness)

John 1:16, NASB
     For of his fullness we have all received,
          and grace upon grace.

Isaiah 11:1-9 (The peace of the Messiah)

In our last text pair from John, we considered what the Word has established, what came to be through his actions. This thought is extended in this verse pair as we consider life, the light of mankind, and grace from his fullness… all of which represent physical and spiritual life given to us by the Word.

Some time ago, I commented more extensively on the theme of darkness and light from this text (recurring in the Gospel of John; skip past the part that gives away the ending to this series in the paragraph right after I quote John 1:1-11) and the fact that we love the darkness. Though it is uncomfortable for us, we still rejoice at the appearance of the life-giving light. The darkness offers a hiding place, but not a refuge; it does not offer the comfort we need, and represents avoidance, not embrace. So far is the darkness from the light that it can never master, grasp, or apprehend it — all words selected for their ambiguity, as the Greek here could mean subdue physically or understand intellectually. Or, knowing John, both.

I said before that we would be able to shed more light on verse 17’s apparent contrast of law and grace, and here in verse 16 we find another pickle of a Greek phrase. I’ll spare you the entire corpus of extensive discussion over what χαριν αντι χαριτος (“karin anti karitos”) means and suggest that it refers to our receipt of grace — after we have already received grace. That is, we received grace from God in the Mosaic covenant (Torah, “The Law”) and we receive even more grace on top of that through Jesus Christ… as verse 17 clarifies for us. Many Christians tend to think of Mosaic Law as an opposite or antithesis of grace, yet it should be seen as grace itself, and if anything, not an opposition but a magnifier of the grace we have in Christ.

Our two texts from Isaiah help round out our Messianic understanding around the appearance of the light and the Advent theme of peace for the week. Both speak of the Kingdom of Shalom. Isaiah 11 is a key text for us: Peace. It reminds us that the peace of the Messiah is not merely for people, but for all of creation — it suggests that he seeks not only to restore relationship between God and man, but to bring all of creation into an alignment of peace. Isaiah 11 was one of the Lectionary texts yesterday, and during the communion we sang “Peace in the Valley.”

Oh well, I’m tired and so weary
But I must go alone
Till the lord comes and calls, calls me away, oh yes
Well the morning’s so bright
And the lamp is alight
And the night, night is as black as the sea, oh yes

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me

Well the bear will be gentle
And the wolves will be tame
And the lion shall lay down by the lamb, oh yes
And the beasts from the wild
Shall be lit by a child
And I’ll be changed, changed from this creature that I am, oh yes

There will be peace in the valley for me, some day
There will be peace in the valley for me, oh Lord I pray
There’ll be no sadness, no sorrow
No trouble, trouble I see
There will be peace in the valley for me, for me

So in Advent we have the hope of peace. Though we walk in the valley of darkness, a light appears: it shone out into the darkness — and it shines still.

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