"Now about the Word of Life; the One Who is from the beginning, Whom we’ve heard, Whom we’ve seen with our own eyes, Whom we’ve observed and touched with our own hands... We declare to you the very One we’ve seen and heard so that you can have communion with us. And this communion of ours is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.” - I John 1:1,3
At the close of his extensive and personal gospel account, John tells us that he has only scratched the surface of what Christ did here on earth. He says, “Were every [detail] to be written down, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” John was close to Jesus, and he saw things and heard things on a daily basis that changed his entire life. He walked with the Word, as he calls Jesus in the first chapter of his gospel and again here in his letter, which had dwelt since before time began and will go on after time ceases.
John and the disciples had front row seats to what their fathers had prophesied. They heard Jesus say, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” and they saw him raise Lazarus from the dead. They heard Jesus declare that he'd rebuild the temple in three days' time, and they touched his scarred hands when he came back from doing so. I find it interesting that John says here, “whom we have seen” and “whom we have observed.” We can see events unfold before us, watch as an audience disconnected. But then there are the moments personal to us, when it's more than just seeing something; it's really taking in the sight, engaged as part of it. John saw miracles around town, but he observed his Savior crucified. These moments – the sounds, sights, and feelings – these experiences changed the lives of everyone within earshot, sight, and reach.
And now the beloved disciple, whose life was forever changed, is saying, “All that we experienced, we're sharing now with you!” And who is he saying this too? The Church, his fellow believers! Some of them had seen Jesus as well, had heard him speak and witnessed the miracles. Others, however, were new to the faith, or had been just too young or far away to have seen God in carnet. To the first group, John recalls the experience to jog their memory. To the second group, he is filling them in, catching them up to speed. But altogether, he is sharing this so that, as he says it, “you can have communion with us.” To stir their hearts as his has been stirred, because otherwise, there's no connection, no commonality between the brothren. John wants to grow the circle of fellowship, but that only happens if people are as crazy about Jesus as he is, if their lives are turned upside-down like his was. And that only happens if the story is told, the experience is shared – the experience that turned John's life upside-down. That is why he is proclaiming it to them.
He's also proclaiming it to us, the Church continued. He relays his testimony to us and we pass it on, and all for the same reason – so that we can have communion with one another. When our sites are set on the Lord and our hearts are tuned to the Holy Spirit, we have a commonality, we are in fellowship with one another as the Bride of Christ. And this only happens when we are meditating on Christ, considering and declaring one to another what he did then and what he is doing now among us. In a world of distractions, we are called to focus, and help one another focus, on God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.