Second Sunday after Christmas
Budget to understand the Prologue
The conquests of Alexander the Great, at the end of the 4th century BC, meant a great diffusion of Greek culture. In Judea, as everywhere, the Greeks exerted an enormous influence: their language was increasingly spoken, their customs imitated, buildings were built in their style, gymnasiums were opened, and the doctrine of their philosophers was taught. The Jews, at least the upper class, were enchanted with the wisdom of Greece. However, some authors did not share this enthusiasm. For them, Greek wisdom was a recent product, the work of human ingenuity, and had its temple in a pagan place, Athens. True wisdom is eternal, it comes from God, and resides in Jerusalem.
This can be said in vulgar terms, or poetically, presenting wisdom as a woman and telling her story. Based on various biblical texts, we can reconstruct that story of Wisdom.
The story of the Wisdom of God
*1st stage: Wisdom alongside God from the beginning (Proverbs 8,22-36).*
*The Lord established me at the beginning of his works,*
*at the outset of his ancient activities.*
*Long ago I was formed, before the earth began.*
Before the oceans I was brought forth,
before the springs of the waters.
Yet were the mountains not made,
before the mountains I was brought forth.
Before the earth and its plants
and the first clods of the globe.
2nd stage: Wisdom and creation
When he established the heavens, I was there;
when he drew the circle upon the face of the ocean;
When he held the clouds in his hand
and fixed the foundations of the deep,
When he set a boundary for the sea,
and appointed the waters that should not pass beyond its limit;
When he established the foundations of the earth,
I was there with him as a little one; I was his delight day by day,
playing in his presence all the time;
playing with the ball of the earth
taking pleasure in the sons of men.
Third stage: Wisdom settles in Jerusalem (Ecclesiasticus, 24).
Everywhere I sought rest
and a heritage where to dwell.
Then the creator of the universe commanded me,
the creator established my dwelling:
Dwell in Jacob, let Israel be your heritage.
In the holy dwelling, in his presence I offered worship
and in Zion I established myself;
in the chosen city he made me rest.
In Jerusalem resides my power.
I took root among a glorious nation,
in the portion of the Lord, in his inheritance.
However, there is the possibility that some will reject the advice of wisdom. Indeed, many Jews did not accept this message. Another author presents Wisdom as a woman who complains of not being heard (Proverbs 1,22-25).
I called you, and you refused;
I extended my hand, and you did not heed;
you rejected my counsel,
you did not accept my reproof.
In summary: God’s wisdom is with him from the beginning, accompanies him at the time of creation, enjoys with men, is established in Israel. But many do not enjoy it with him. They prefer to follow another path, they do not pay attention to it.
The History of the Word
The author of the Prologue applied the above ideas to Jesus, introducing some changes. First of all, instead of calling him the wisdom of God, he preferred to call him the Word.
First stage: the Word with God
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God;
she was at the beginning with God.
There is a notable difference with the text about Wisdom. Wisdom is created by God. The Word, not; it exists with him from the beginning. Moreover, the author of the hymn is very sober, he does not occur to say that the Word played in the presence of God.
Second stage: the Word and creation
All things were made through her,
and without her nothing was made that was made.
In her was life,
and the life was the light of men;
and the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it.
It sounds like a tongue twister, but it is very simple: everything was created by the Word of God. The sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the sea, the marble, the wood, the crystal… All has been created by the Word of God. And she, in addition to having created men, is also our light. The only novelty, very important, is that from the beginning a struggle begins between the light and the darkness; but the darkness cannot prevail, it cannot defeat it.
Third stage: the world, created by the Word, ignores it.
So far, everything has gone well. God and the Word may be content. Suddenly, they notice that the Word is ignored by the world.
In the world it was,
and though the world was made through it,
the world did not know it.
The world here does not refer to inanimate beings but to people who ignore God, do not worship him, or dispense with him. The author of the Prologue thinks of all the pagan peoples, who could have known the true God, but who had fallen into various forms of idolatry.
Fourth stage: The Word decides to settle in Israel; its people reject it
What will the Word do when it is ignored by the world? For a Jew, the answer is clear: to take refuge in Israel, the chosen people, just as wisdom did: *“I took root among a glorious people, in the portion of the Lord, in his inheritance.”* That is what the Word does, but it finds an unpleasant surprise:
It came to its home,
and its own people did not receive it.*
Fifth stage: The Word decides to become flesh and dwell among us.*
The Word has suffered two defeats: the world ignores it, its people reject it. What would any of us do in its place? Stay with God and forget everyone. Fortunately, God is not like that. The Word makes the most astonishing decision imaginable.
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us
and we have seen his glory,
glory as of the only Son from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
For from his fullness we have all received,
grace upon grace.
From Naive Optimism to Magical Realism
The history of Wisdom seems overly optimistic. The hymn might appear very pessimistic. However, that is not the case. Although it is not everyone, nor all of Israel, there is a group, formed by Jews and pagans, willing to welcome Jesus, to believe in him. And those, all of us, receive an enormous reward.
But to those who received him
he gave power to become children of God.
And this group contemplates his glory, and from his fullness receives grace upon grace.
José Luis Sicre
English version translated with AI