As we tell the Nativity story, we naturally recall the circumstances of Jesus’ birth, those

who came to see the infant and the events related to the birth. Still, the Nativity is not

only about what happened in Bethlehem but what is happening now. Customarily, on

someone’s birthday, we give him or her gifts. At the first Christmas, Christ was God’s

gift to the whole world. On this Christmas, Christ gives us gifts.

We will consider St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint John (Vol. 1,

trans. James Weisheipl, O.P. and Fabian R. Larcher, O.P. (Albany, NY: Magi Books,

1980). The references inserted in the text will be to the section of Thomas’ commentary.

John’s Gospel starts with his Prologue (Jn 1:1-18), which we use as our Gospel for

Christmas Day. It opens with the words, “in the beginning” because that is where God’s

gifts begin.

In the Prologue, John uses a unique name for the Son of God, the “Word.” Why “word”?

We communicate with each other through words. God has always spoken to us through

His Word. Especially during Jesus’ earthly life, everything that Jesus did and said

communicated the Father. As Jesus told Philip, “Anyone who has seen Me has seen the

Father” (Jn 14:9). God continues to speak to us through His Word.

The Word was with God in the beginning (Jn 1:1). In fact “the Word was God” (Jn 1:1).

All of God’s gifts came to us through His Word: “Through Him, all things came into

being, and apart from Him, nothing came to be” (Jn 1:3). Even we, ourselves, came to

be through His Word

Although the Word was the “life” and “light” of the world, we were oblivious to His

presence: “Whatever came to be through Him was life and this life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness but the darkness did not overcome it… …through Him

the world was made… He was in the world… but the world did not know Him” (Jn 1:4-5,

10).

The Word was not just the life & quot; or the “light that shines in the darkness” at one  point in

history. The Word continues to be the life and the light in the darkness that surrounds

us.

In becoming flesh, the Word came to us as the visible light, as Thomas Aquinas

explains: “God came in the flesh so that the darkness might apprehend the light, i.e.

obtain a knowledge of it. As Isaiah said, ‘The people who walked in darkness saw a

great light’ (Is 9:2)" (141).

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). Thomas reflects: “’The Word

was made flesh’… to show the greatness of God’s kindness to us”(169). If an important

person personally came to us to deliver a message, we would be overwhelmed.

Thomas describes God’s eternal Word taking our flesh as “God’s kindness to us.” Such

“kindness” is unimaginable.

As John had said, the Word was already in the world but we did not recognize His

presence. Thomas observes: “He came where He already was… For He was there …

but He came by assuming flesh. He was there invisibly, and He came in order to be

visible” (143).

The visible Word reveals the Father through His own “flesh.” John declares: “The only-

begotten Son, ever at the Father’s side, has revealed Him” (Jn 1:18). The Word is Truth,

as Thomas Aquinas states:

The human nature in Christ attained to the divine truth itself, that is, that this

man should be the divine Truth itself. In other men we find many participated

truths, insofar as the First Truth gleams back into their minds through many

likenesses; but Christ is Truth itself. Thus, it is said, ‘In whom all the treasures

of wisdom are hidden’ (Col 2:3) (188).

We are constantly seeking truth. We evaluate news media and other people with regard

to how reliable they are, how closely what they say is true. Ultimately, God’s Word is the

Truth.

John declares that the Word is “full of grace and truth… From His fullness we have all

received, grace following grace. The law was given through Moses, grace and truth

came through Jesus Christ” (Jn 1:14, 16-17).

Thomas reflects that Jesus communicates grace and virtue to us:

These words can be explained in relation to His dignity as head, i.e., inasmuch

as Christ is the head of the church. In this way it is His prerogative to

communicate grace to others, both by producing virtue in the minds of men

through the inpouring of grace and by meriting, through His teaching and works

and the sufferings of His death, superabundant grace for an infinite number of

worlds, if there were such (190).

Thomas emphasizes that Christ is the source of grace: “Christ is the origin, as a

fountain, of every spiritual grace… Grace is dispensed to us through Him and from Him”

(200).

According to Thomas, one grace leads to another grace: “We have received of the

fullness of grace what is described as grace upon grace… of His fullness we received

grace, and upon that grace we have received another…” (203).

God’s Word transforms us so intensely that we become God’s children. Thomas

asserts: “Because ‘the Word was made flesh.’ He made it possible for us to be made

sons of God. ‘God sent His Son… so that we might receive our adoption as sons’ (Gal

4:5)" (165).

Thomas relates Christ’s birth with our becoming God’s children:

The fruit of the coming of the Son of God is great, because by it we are made

children of God. ‘God sent His Son born of a woman… so that we might receive

adoption as children’ (Gal 4:5). And it was fitting that we, who are sons of God

by the fact that we are made like the Son, should be reformed through the Son

(149).

John declares: “To those who did accept Him, He gave the power to become children of

God, to those who believe in His name” (Jn 1:13).

Thomas comments that we “accept” Jesus through believing in Him: “To receive Him is

to believe in Him, … as Ephesians states, ‘that Christ may dwell in your hearts through

faith’ (Eph 3:17). Therefore, they received Him, who believe in His name” (157).

Thomas reflects that, as we are becoming children of God, we are being formed in the

image of the Son, and our being God’s children is a participation in the Son’s likeness:

But if we consider the Son, insofar as sonship is conferred on others through a

likeness to Him, then there are many sons of God through participation. And

because they are called sons of God by a likeness to Him, He is called the

First-born of all: ‘Those whom He foreknew, He predestined to become

conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the First-born of many

brothers’ (Rom 8:29) (149).

We take on the likeness of God, as Thomas tells us: "We become children of God by

being made like God…First, by the infusion of grace; hence anyone having sanctifying

grace is made a child of God” (150).

Thomas illustrates this infusion by two passages: “You did not receive the spirit of

slavery… but the spirit of adoption as children” (Rom 8:15); “Because you are children

of God, God sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts” (Gal 4:6).

Sharing in the sonship of the Son, our actions become similar to those of God: “We are

like God by the perfection of our actions, because one who acts justly is a son: ‘Love

your enemies… so that, you may be the children of your Father’ (Mt 5:44)" (150).

Thomas affirms that God gives us the power to act as children of God through grace:

Even free will, if it is to be moved to receive grace, needs the help of divine

grace… He gives power by moving the free will of man to consent to the

reception of grace, as in ‘Convert us to Yourself, O Lord,’ by moving our will to

Your love, ‘and we shall be converted’ (Lam 5:21). And in this sense we speak

of an interior call, of which it is said, ‘Those whom He called’ by inwardly

moving the will to consent to grace, ‘He justified,’ by infusing grace (Rom 8:3)

(154).

Our conformity in the image of the Son is a process that continues until we come to our

final goal, in which our souls as well as our bodies are transformed:

We are made like God by the attainment of glory. The glory of the soul by the

light of glory, ‘When He appears we shall be like Him’ (1 Jn 3:2); and the glory

of the body, ‘He will reform our lowly body’ (Phil 3:21). Of these two it is said,

‘We are waiting for our adoption as sons of God’ (Rom 8:23) (150).

Although, our complete transformation as children of God, being conformed into the

image of His Son, is a process, this process is happening now.

Denis Vincent Wiseman, O.P.