Interiority and Covenant: A Study of and in the First Letter of Saint John

The first letter of John can rightly be called the Canticle of Canticles of the New Testament. Because of the power of its message which Augustine saw as a prolonged meditation on the love proper to God and to the Christian community, and the exquisite beauty of its form which invites and yet transcends analysis, the Letter has merited the privileged attention accorded to it by centuries of study, contemplation and liturgical celebration. In our own day the Letter is no less scrutinized, meditated and proclaimed. Indeed, the religious sensibility of our times reveals itself as particularly attuned to the Johannine articulation of Christian experience which is characterized by an emphasis upon interiorly, personal relationships, and discernment. The Letter begins not with the normal form of epistolary address, but rather with a solemn and moving Prologue which sets the tone for all that follows. The author situates himself among the privileged witnesses of Christ: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which are have seen with our eyes, which we have beheld and our hands have felt, concerning the word of life (1,1). His message is about eternal life, that fullness of knowledge and love which belong to God alone, and which the Father willed to share with us by sending His Son Jesus Christ.