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

 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You 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."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

- John 11:1-16

Yesterday we read that once again the religious leaders took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods" '?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many people came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about His Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  Today we begin chapter 11, and the story of what will be the seventh sign of seven in John's Gospel.  This will be the sign that sealed the religious authorities' decision to put Jesus to death (v. 47-50), the resurrection of Lazarus.  Bethany is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem.  Lazarus is the same name as "Eleazar" which means "God helps."

When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  My study bible says that this message is sent back to Mary and Martha to strengthen them so that when Lazarus dies, they may take confidence in the words of Jesus.  The Son of God being glorified mustn't be understood as the cause of Lazarus dying.  Rather, it indicates that Christ will be glorified as a result of Lazarus' death, occurring from a natural illness, and his being raised from the death.  Jesus' saying here is similar to His teaching about the previous sign, the healing of the man blind from birth, when He told the disciples, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him" (9:3).

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Jesus delays two more days in order for Lazarus to be dead long enough that the corruption of his body could set in (v. 39).  Therefore there could be no doubt about the miracle -- and the power of the Lord would clearly be seen by all.  

Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are You 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."   In yesterday's reading (see above), the leadership tried once again to stone Him.  Jesus has said that He is the light of the world (8:12).  In connection with the previous healing -- the giving of sight to a man blind from birth -- He said, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day;  night is coming when no one can work" (9:4).  Here once again, He emphasizes that He is the light; as He follows the will of the Father through His ministry, "walking" according to the light as long as He is in the world (9:5).

These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."  Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  This is another instance where through misunderstanding of Jesus' words, truths are revealed and incidents remain memorable.  See also Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 11:30; 15:6 for other instances in which "sleep" is used similarly among the earliest faithful. 

Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  My study bible calls this statement by Thomas an unwitting prophecy of his own future martyrdom.   It's also an illustration of the path that all believers must take.  We die daily to the world for the sake of following Christ (Luke 9:23-24).  

What is light?  What is the light?  Christ says, "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."  Certainly if we understand one thing from John's Gospel, it is that Christ Himself is the light.  John's Prologue makes that explicit to us:  "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."  So important is the concept of light as part of Christ's identity, that it is layered and woven throughout the Gospel of John.  Even the first person to whom He clearly reveals Himself as Christ is a Samaritan woman, whose saint's name is "Photini" in the Greek, meaning literally "Enlightened."   Here in today's reading Jesus uses night and day to illustrate what it means to walk in the light, and it's tied to His mission.  While He is in the world, He's said, He is the light of the world.  He must work the works of God while it is day -- while He remains in the world, and before it is His "hour" of glorification, before the Crucifixion.  Tying together all of these images of light, we have a sense of what it means for ourselves to walk in the light, and that light is the light of faith and communion.  We, too, must seek to walk by His light in our lives.  It is an illumination for the sure path that we seek.  Sometimes that light, like the blazing flame that led Israel in search of the Promised Land, takes meandering, wandering courses that don't make much logical sense to us.  Wouldn't a straight line be logical, something more direct?  But we're not the ones who set the goal and fullness of the effects of that light.  Without the meandering it might take us on, the fullness of faith wouldn't be possible.  God illuminates the corners in ourselves that we don't see, and brings us face to face with our own fears, reservations, and hidden parts we don't allow ourselves to acknowledge.  The purpose of that light is to bring us fully to it, to gather to ourselves not all our worldly goals and aspirations, but rather to bring us closer to God, to Christ, and to create even a dependence upon that light and life, stripping away what gets in the way.   What seems to us like a meandering, wandering, illogical road is in fact the straight line to God.  We just don't know the fullness of that light, so we can't see the dark passages it needs to illumine by taking us through them in advance.  One aspect of the working of that light is clearly seen in today's (and other) passages in John.  As St. Paul writes, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  Even through this death of a beloved friend, the light is working.  As Jesus says, it is "for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  So may it be with seemingly unfortunate circumstances in your own life.  Have faith with the light.  It illumines what you need, even when you can't see it's a straight road ahead with a plan for your faith, your soul, your real life.