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Homer's prologue to the Odyssey delays the identification of the hero until the end of the prologue, a literary sign that this hero comes hidden, disguised, in craft. That, of course, is precisely how Odysseus behaves throughout the epic.
John's gospel begins with similar techniques. We learn about the Word and have some sense that he is a person from the opening verses. John is named, and we think perhaps John is the Word and the light; but no, John has tricked us, because John is only a witness to the light. We know all about what this Word has done - made the world, come into it, given rights of children to those who receive Him, revealed glory, given the fullness of grace. But it's not until verse 17, right at the end of the prologue, that Jesus is named.
And throughout John's gospel, Jesus is the elusive hero, the one born of the Spirit who comes and goes where He pleases and is heard but not grasped or seen. In some sense, he remains the hidden hero until His un-veiling in John's second volume, the "Apocalypse," when, like Odysseus, he returns to His bride to destroy the unruly suitors.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, February 28, 2006 at 07:25 AM
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