Mary in the Gospel of John: Part II
Fr. J. Patrick Gaffney, SMM
4. Dialogue become monologue.
The simple words of Jesus found in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) become in John elegant, mystical discourses. A strange characteristic found in some of these sermons is that it is difficult to discover whether the words belong to Jesus or to the evangelist. For example, at the beginning of Chapter three Jesus begins a dialogue with a Pharisee named Nicodemus. We can follow it up to verse 13. But from 3:13 to 3:21 the dialogue becomes monologue. Nicodemus drops out of the scene. Is it Jesus who is still speaking? Or is it John the evangelist? How easily the text seem to flow from Jesus’ words to what appears here to be the author’s commentary. This is a fascinating point, for this monologue contains the most quoted text of the Bible, 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” Did Jesus say these words? Or are they an explication by John? Again, although it appears more likely to be commentary of the inspired author, to the final editor of this Gospel it apparently made little difference whether they were Jesus’ or John’s words. Both are here of equal value. How? John’s words are divinely
inspired and therefore authentically speak the mind of Jesus. We can say that the commentary is the word of the Church speaking definitively and clearly on the faith. Filled with the Holy Spirit, these words express the thought of Jesus and in this sense can truly be said to be His words.
These commentaries by the evangelist can be found in other episodes also, e.g., 1:15-17, 3:31-35, 12:37-43, etc. They heighten the experience of mystery which radiates from this Gospel. Jesus, the Eternal Word made flesh, not only reveals God but in His very Person is the disclosure of God whom “no one has ever seen” (1:14, 18). The awesomeness and also the strange peacefulness which flow from
the reading of John is accentuated by these mysterious monologues.
5. Use of symbols, signs.
Although briefly touched upon in the previous installment, it must be stressed that John’s mysticism expresses itself in symbols and signs. Bread and wine, life and light, hour, water, door, way, are used symbolically, i.e., they are disclosing a deeper reality. Life and light become symbols for the kingdom and express the person of Jesus Himself. Water symbolizes immersion into Christ, hour, the ultimate destiny of an individual, etc. The literary style of John’s Gospel creates an atmosphere where it becomes quite natural to intuit a deeper meaning in these simple realities of daily living.
Painting: Pieta, Roger van der Weyden (1400-1461)
Mary in the Gospel of John
In the last issue of The Queen we began our study of Mary in the Gospel of John. It was pointed out that before dealing directly with the marian references in the Fourth Gospel, it would first be necessary to clarify some of the peculiarities of Johannine thought and then try to verify the date and the author of the book. We therefore touched on three principal characteristics or peculiarities of John’s written proclamation of the Good News: two-tiered meaning, misunderstanding and inclusion. In this installment we will briefly consider two additional characteristics of John ’5 Gospel before tackling the issue of the date and author. After completing this simplified introduction, we can proceed to the first Marian episode, the marriage feast of Cana.
John has a penchant for the word “sign” to designate a miracle of Jesus. In fact, the first half of his Gospel describes seven signs—seven major miracles of Jesus—although the evangelist tells us that Jesus “performed many other signs not recorded in this book” (20:30). Why the use of the term “sign” instead of miracle? The synoptic accounts of the miracles of Jesus indicate the inbreaking of the kingdom of God into this world: “But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Lk. 11:20). John rather describes these works of Jesus as “signs” for they disclose who Jesus is. For example, the final sign, the resurrection of Lazarus, expresses a deeper truth that Jesus Himself is Life. The explanation of the mystery of Jesus is the basic thrust of the entire Gospel. The signs are “sacraments” which contain, reveal and impart the glory of God, the Eternal Word enfleshed.
II. When was the Gospel of John Written?
Since, as we will see in some detail, John’s mariology is so powerful, it is important to discover when the Gospel was written. An early date
would show that our Lady was venerated from the beginnings of the Church. It is for this very reason that some scholars start off with the
premise that the Fourth Gospel is not an early Christian writing, but must have been written sometime in the middle or late first century when the Church became, so it is claimed, more highly organized and its theology more refined. True, the Christology of John is high – stressing the divinity of Jesus – but to conclude, therefore, that this is proof enough that the Gospel was written many years after the death of the Lord is blatantly illogical. The reasoning begins with the prejudiced, freely assumed premise that it is the Church which must have invented the divinity of Jesus. What is freely assumed can be just as well freely denied. Moreover, Paul’s developed Christology – in some ways more so than found in the Synoptics – is it letters which are among the earliest books of the New Testament, earlier than all the Gospels. Finally, in addition to the highly probable implicit use of John’s Gospel by Justin the Martyr (around 150 AD.) and Ignatius of Antioch (around 110 AD), rather recent discoveries of several second century texts of John point to the fact that the Fourth Gospel was circulating Christian circles in Egypt by the middle of the second century (140 A.D.). Since the Gospel was not written in Egypt (the common opinion), it must have taken time for it to find its way to Africa and to be accepted as canonical. Conclusion: the Gospel was written no later than around 100 AD.
Additional arguments to be mentioned in the next issue, will show that the final edition of John’s Gospel dates from somewhere in the 90’s and its initial formation probably goes back to the time of Matthew and Luke, the early 80’s. John’s mariology, therefore, depicts the understanding of Our Lady in the Church of these early times.
Next Article: The Feast at Cana
