Chichester Cathedral
– Journeying with John: Entering the Drama
1. Preliminary Considerations
 John’s gospel as an exploration of vision
 The material elements of creation feature prominently – water, light, physical
space, embodiment, bread, wine, home, society.
 Interaction between the visible and invisible reality is played out dramatically,
through the metaphor of zones that are “above” and “below”.
 The “signs” that Jesus does are enacted statements of connectivity between
realms above and below.
NB No consensus of what the signs are. They include: turning water into
wine (2.1-11); healing the royal official’s son (4.46-54); healing the paralytic
at Bethesda (5.1-18); feeding the 5000 (6.1-15); walking on the water (6.1621); healing the man born blind (9.1-7); raising of Lazarus (11.1-45); the
crucifixion (19.25-30); the miraculous haul of fish (21.1-14).
2. Where does the drama come from?
 Reference to the temple in relation to creation and God’s covenant with
creation.
 Significance of the configuration of the temple building and its ritual.
 The role of the High Priest
 The person of Jesus: “But he was speaking of the temple of his body” (2.21).
 Temple festivals, marking out time and sanctifying it.
John does not write the gospel as a play, but the drama of the theatre (commonplace in
antiquity) informs our reading of the gospel as the drama of salvation.
Salvation is public (universal, catholic), enacted (liturgical), revelatory (seeing the invisible
reality), the vindication of the truth (unassailable).
The dramatis personae speak out of the text and are characters drawn with humour and
vitality. They create dialogue in which key statements are articulated, e.g. Nathaniel (1.49);
Mary (2.5); woman at the well (4.25,29); man born blind (9.36-37); Martha (11.25-27); Mary
Magdalene (20.15-18); Thomas (20.28-29); Peter (21.20-22).
Our reading of the gospel therefore invites participation in the drama of liturgy, a focal point
at which the zones of “above” and “below” intersect, and salvation is realised. Drama also
determines the communal nature of prayer enacted through worship, the foundation of life in
Christ as a household in which the persons of the trinity abide (14.23; Rev 3.20).
John’s gospel can be read as seven acts, with a prologue and an epilogue. Each act is built
around a festival of the temple, grounded in human time and history. In each act a number of
scenes explore a central theme. Cumulatively, grace and truth are uncovered, as the prologue
had foretold.
Prologue: “We saw his glory” (1.1-18)
1. The First Passover (including the first week, 6 days) 1.19 – 4.54
 Testimony of John the Baptist, first disciples, wedding at Cana
 Cleansing the Temple
 Visit of Nicodemus at night
 Return to John the Baptist
 Visit to Samaria; woman at the well
 Return to Galilee; healing of royal official’s son
2. The Second Festival (unnamed) 5.1 – 47
 Healing of the paralytic at Bethesda
3. The Second Passover (6.1 – 71)
 Feeding the 5000
 Teaching at Capernaum
4. The Feast of Tabernacles (7.1 – 10.21)
 Mysterious arrival in Jerusalem and teaching in the Temple
 [The woman caught in adultery]
 Conflict with the Pharisees
 Healing of the man born blind
 Teaching on the Good Shepherd
5. The Feast of Dedication (10.22 – 12.50)
 Teaching: “the Father and I are one”
 The raising of Lazarus
 The plot against Jesus
 Entry into Jerusalem
6. The Passover & Sacrifice of the Lamb of God (13.1 – 19.42)
 Supper and footwashing
 Farewell discourse
 High Priestly prayer & dedication
 The passion & “lifting up”, glory, transfiguration, giving of the Spirit
7. The New Festival of the 8th Day – Resurrection (20)
 Mary Magdalene, Peter & John
 The Disciples: Thomas
Epilogue (21)
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Galilee; the miraculous haul of fish
The charge to Peter
The beloved disciple
MCW November 2015