In the Bosom of the Father: Reflections on the Prologue of John

Summary

The Gospel of John is in a special way the Gospel of love and intimacy. It is the Gospel of "belovedness," in which we are granted an insight into the immense love that God the Father has for his beloved Son, and for each one of us. The Son himself tells us at the Last Supper: "With the very love with which the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." And he also soon adds: "The Father himself loves you." During this supper, one of the disciples, the one "whom Jesus loved," leans against the breast of Christ, reposing against his very bosom. It is this disciple who, from the heart of his encounter with the intimate love of Christ, writes the flaming and passionate words of this Gospel, inviting us to share, each of us uniquely, in his own experience of God's inestimable love. In these reflections, the Prologue to the Gospel of John is used as a doorway by which we try to enter into a profound contact with the Heart of the One who loves us...into the very throbbing heartbeat of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.