John 8:12-13

Sisters and brothers in Christ,

This evening’s Bible passage is John 8:12-13:

¹² Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”¹³ So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.”

When Jesus tells the Pharisees, “I am the light of the world,” he is also implicitly telling them, “You are not the light of the world.” The Pharisees believe they are the ones called by God to shed light into darkness. They’re convinced that they already have the answers to all the important (and many not so important) questions, that they are God’s enlightened delegates charged with telling God’s people what to do and what not to do, and that they are therefore in a position to declare Jesus’s testimony untrue.

Christians can easily slip into the same error as the Pharisees (albeit always claiming to be in agreement with Jesus). Yes, we are called to be “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14), but we can do so only by reflecting the light of Christ, not by claiming to have all the answers ourselves. We are called to a humility that recognizes the limits of our knowledge and to an ongoing daily dependence on the light of Christ if we are to avoid walking in darkness.

Jesus’s use of the word “follow” makes the same point. Jesus called the disciples to “follow” him; throughout the gospels they are repeatedly described as those who “follow.” This they manage (at least until his arrest), but they rarely understand him. Moreover, following is not leading. Whenever one or other of the disciples decides he knows the way forward, he slips out of the light of following and into the darkness of leading. Peter takes Jesus aside and tells him he shouldn’t be so foolhardy as to go to Jerusalem (Matt. 16:22). James and John share with Jesus their bright idea that they should sit in authority on either side of him when he comes into his glory (Mk 10:37). 

We, too, are called to be followers of Jesus, not to set our own paths and expect Jesus to light the way. Prayer is not a matter of saying to Jesus, as James and John did, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you” (Mk. 10:35). Following Jesus is to pray, “May your will be done on earth (and in my life) even as it is in heaven.” It’s to quiet ourselves long enough to hear his “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12 KJV) in the midst of the “fire” and “earthquake” of our busyness. And, then, when we think we’ve heard it, not to be too sure, because we’re remarkably good ventriloquists when it comes to mistaking our own voice for God’s.

What does it mean practically for us to follow the light of Christ in an often-dark world? It means reading our Bibles, not to confirm what we think we already know, but to be open in humility to the Holy Spirit shedding light into those places where we are still stumbling around in the dark. It means praying, not for God’s help in accomplishing our goals, but for insight into how he would have us serve him, however clumsily, in accomplishing his goals. And it means acquiring the habit of practicing the presence of God in all the daily tasks that fill our days, whether it be changing diapers; home-schooling without any training; teaching a class or keeping an office active online; caring for the sick; or any of the multitude of other unexpected tasks we find ourselves facing during this pandemic. Above all, perhaps, it means accepting Jesus’s love and forgiveness when we try to find our own way in the dark and taking his hand as he leads us gently back into the light.

We are at that time of year when the days are getting longer and the evenings lighter. May we each learn to follow Christ more closely so that the light of life may grow brighter and more consistent in our lives.

Your brother in Christ,

Max