In The Beginning Was The Word

During Lent we will be re-running some of our most popular episodes. This week is a re-run of Week 28, in which we discuss why John 1 is read at Pascha rather than an account of the Resurrection. Fr Aaron connected the beginning of this Gospel to the reading from Matthew 28 at the Vesperal Liturgy prior to the Paschal Liturgy that concludes with “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” At Pascha the following day, we here from John 1, “In the beginning was the Word.” Because the church revolves around Pascha, we end our year with a reminder that God’s Word was there in the beginning, and then turn to the promise that the Word will be there in the end. God’s Word abides forever. We then turned our attention to what John refers to in his Gospel as “the Word.” Father Aaron explained that we can understand “word” to be a statement or a brief teaching, as “the word of God” (Scripture), and/or as the incarnate word/incarnate Scripture, which is Jesus Christ. With this in mind, we can comprehend that God first gave His word to Abraham, then through His Scriptural message, and finally culminated with the Word incarnate—our Lord Jesus Christ.