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"Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." This He said signifying by what death He would die. The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
- John 12:27-36
Yesterday, we read that there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."
"Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name." Here is the witness of the conflict between the human and the divine in Jesus; His soul is troubled. A natural response to what He knows is His impending death on the Cross. But the divine nature takes the helm, so to speak, and His human nature follows. "Glorify Your name" is the response to the will of the Father. A note in my study bible refers to Christ's prayer in the Garden, in Luke's Gospel (Luke 22:41-42): "Christ willingly takes in Himself the voice of weak humanity, thereby conquering weakness: 'The words of weakness are sometimes adopted by the strong in order that the hearts of the weak may be strengthened' (St. Gregory the Great)." He also sets the example here, for all of us, in our own fears and weakness.
Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake." My study bible tells us that the Father's name is an extension of His Person. The Son's death completes the purpose of the Father and shows His love for all, thus glorifying Him. Jesus is in effect saying, "Father, lead Me to the Cross." This is Christ's divine response to the human prompting to avoid the Cross. The Father's response refers to the signs that have already been performed by Christ, and to the death and Resurrection which will come.
"Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." This He said signifying by what death He would die. Jesus refers to His death on the Cross by speaking of being "lifted up from the earth." My study bible says, "This death will bring salvation to all peoples, while at the same time rendering judgment on the faithless and destroying once for all the power of Satan, the ruler of this world." He has also referred to being "lifted up" elsewhere in John's Gospel, meaning His death on the Cross -- see John 3:14-15; 8:28.
The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them. Once again we can hear in the people a kind of "Greek chorus," reflecting the ideas of the crowds who listen. They are curious and don't yet understand what He is talking about. Jesus refers to Himself once again as the light (see also 1:4-9; 8:12). My study bible suggests here that there are many facets of meaning in what Christ is saying. First, He will be completing His public ministry very shortly. Additionally, it says, our lives are very limited -- we have but a short time to repent and to believe in Christ before death. Finally, the second coming of Christ is but a little while when compared to eternity.
We recall other words of Jesus about the light. That was in recent readings, as He made up His mind to go to Lazarus, for the seventh and final sign in John's Gospel -- the raising of Lazarus, the one which has sealed His fate with the authorities. At that time, His disciples warned Him about the Pharisees at the temple, who wish to stone Him. They said, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and You are going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." All things must be done with, in, and through this light, and that is the great message of the Gospels -- and particularly of John's Gospel which speaks so strongly and vividly of the Light. Christ is the light of the world, as He has said of Himself. To the writer of the Gospel, a man who has born direct witness to the ministry of Christ, the palpable impressions of that light are clearly present. The vivid memory of Christ is something we can sense all throughout John's Gospel, and perhaps a great sadness at His rejection by the authorities in the temple, and at the evil that is in the world that will not accept the light. Jesus also says of John the Baptist, "He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light" (John 5:35). So light takes on the power of the gift of grace, a light from heaven showing our way -- Jesus Himself is the light, but He calls upon each of us to be a lamp, just as He has spoken of John the Baptist as a lamp. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus teaches His followers: "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16). In today's reading, He offers to all of us: "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." So faith is essential to this light. Not only do we put our faith in the light, but in doing so we may also carry the light, as lamps. In so doing, we become sons of light. (Lest we worry about gender-related language, let us remember that in the tradition of this time and place, it is the sons who are the inheritors; thereby we are all "sons," regardless of gender.) The implication here is that what we choose to put our faith and trust in, we become somehow. We "inherit" whatever traits of that person or thing we put our faith in. Thereby our choices become essential to understanding what we become, who we may be, and what we carry into the world. Such are the terms here that the choice is made absolutely clear: light or darkness. What do we put our faith in? What will we trust? Moreover, what do we wish to become? Whom do we wish to be like? Whose likeness shall we carry into the world? As His followers, we remember His light, and that we must carry it with us, within us, and out into the world. Jesus sets the ultimate example of glorifying the Father; He will make the complete sacrifice in order to follow the will of the Father and complete this mission of love. How do we follow Him? What part of our lives do we give to His light today, so that we may reflect His light in our own life?
The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?" Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them. Once again we can hear in the people a kind of "Greek chorus," reflecting the ideas of the crowds who listen. They are curious and don't yet understand what He is talking about. Jesus refers to Himself once again as the light (see also 1:4-9; 8:12). My study bible suggests here that there are many facets of meaning in what Christ is saying. First, He will be completing His public ministry very shortly. Additionally, it says, our lives are very limited -- we have but a short time to repent and to believe in Christ before death. Finally, the second coming of Christ is but a little while when compared to eternity.
We recall other words of Jesus about the light. That was in recent readings, as He made up His mind to go to Lazarus, for the seventh and final sign in John's Gospel -- the raising of Lazarus, the one which has sealed His fate with the authorities. At that time, His disciples warned Him about the Pharisees at the temple, who wish to stone Him. They said, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and You are going there again?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." All things must be done with, in, and through this light, and that is the great message of the Gospels -- and particularly of John's Gospel which speaks so strongly and vividly of the Light. Christ is the light of the world, as He has said of Himself. To the writer of the Gospel, a man who has born direct witness to the ministry of Christ, the palpable impressions of that light are clearly present. The vivid memory of Christ is something we can sense all throughout John's Gospel, and perhaps a great sadness at His rejection by the authorities in the temple, and at the evil that is in the world that will not accept the light. Jesus also says of John the Baptist, "He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light" (John 5:35). So light takes on the power of the gift of grace, a light from heaven showing our way -- Jesus Himself is the light, but He calls upon each of us to be a lamp, just as He has spoken of John the Baptist as a lamp. In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus teaches His followers: "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16). In today's reading, He offers to all of us: "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." So faith is essential to this light. Not only do we put our faith in the light, but in doing so we may also carry the light, as lamps. In so doing, we become sons of light. (Lest we worry about gender-related language, let us remember that in the tradition of this time and place, it is the sons who are the inheritors; thereby we are all "sons," regardless of gender.) The implication here is that what we choose to put our faith and trust in, we become somehow. We "inherit" whatever traits of that person or thing we put our faith in. Thereby our choices become essential to understanding what we become, who we may be, and what we carry into the world. Such are the terms here that the choice is made absolutely clear: light or darkness. What do we put our faith in? What will we trust? Moreover, what do we wish to become? Whom do we wish to be like? Whose likeness shall we carry into the world? As His followers, we remember His light, and that we must carry it with us, within us, and out into the world. Jesus sets the ultimate example of glorifying the Father; He will make the complete sacrifice in order to follow the will of the Father and complete this mission of love. How do we follow Him? What part of our lives do we give to His light today, so that we may reflect His light in our own life?
