If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of the 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 the 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, as Jesus continued in His dialogue and confrontation with the religious leadership (at the Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah), they 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 came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this 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 reading the story of the seventh sign of seven given to us in John's Gospel, the Resurrection of Lazarus.  The entire story is covered in verses 1-45 of this chapter.  It is this seventh sign that sealed the religious authorities' choice to put Jesus to death (verses 47-50).   Bethany is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem.  My study bible tells us that Lazarus is the same name as "Eleazar" in Hebrew, which literally means "God helps."  Interestingly, John gives us a parenthetical remark about Mary, one of the sisters of Lazarus, which refers to an event which will take place in chapter 12, the anointing of Jesus (12:1-8).  Evidently, this must have been a story well-known to the early Christian community.

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."  Similarly to the tragedy of the affliction of the man blind from birth, which Jesus pronounced was neither the result of sin on his or his parents' part, but rather an occasion for the manifestation of the works of God (9:1-3), Jesus proclaims here that Lazarus' sickness if an occasion "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 in order to strengthen them so that when Lazarus dies, they may take confidence in Christ's words.  The Son of God being glorified, my study bible tells us, must not be understood as the cause of Lazarus dying.  Rather, it is an indication that Christ will be glorified as a result of Lazarus' death -- which results from natural illness -- and Lazarus' being raised from the dead.

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.  My study bible explains that Christ delays in order for Lazarus to be dead long enough that the corruption of his body could set in (see verse 39).  In this way there would be no doubt of the miracle of the raising of Lazarus, and the work of the Lord would be seen clearly 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?"  In yesterday's reading (above), we read that -- not for the first time -- the religious leaders sought to stone Christ for blasphemy, after He declared that "I and the Father are one" (see Thursday's reading).

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 the world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  Jesus has already twice declared Himself the light of the world, and in the previous chapter, spoke about working while it is day.  All of these statements point to Himself as light, in which is illuminated the way to proceed.

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."  Once again, John's Gospel gives us a misunderstanding regarding Jesus' allegorical language.  My study bible compares the use of the term "to sleep" as similar to that of Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 11:30, 15:6.  It notes, also, that Thomas' final statement, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him," is an unwitting prophecy of his own future martyrdom.  It adds that this also illustrates the path that all believers must take -- that we die daily to the world for the sake of following Christ (Luke 9:23-24; 1 Corinthians 15:31).

Jesus says, in today's reading, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of the world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."   This is His response to the fears of His disciples, that He is willing to go again near Jerusalem (to Bethany, a nearby town), after the leaders have repeatedly sought to stone Him to death.  Ultimately, we know He refers to Himself as "the light of the world" and that He has said, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."   John's Prologue introduces the Gospel Book to us and the story of Jesus by speaking of light and the darkness that seeks to oppose it and can neither comprehend nor destroy the light (John 1:4-5).  What Jesus tells the disciples is that He has an illumination, a way to walk in His life, to live through His mission, that is guided by something akin to the light of day.  His path is illumined, and He knows which way He walks.  All things are done in following the will of the Father, and by this light also He knows that Lazarus' illness is not for the purpose of death, but rather "for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  "Glory" is in some sense related to the light, for it is that very light which gives the substance of this kind of glory:  a reflection of goodness, a type of radiance that reveals true worth and substance.  It is in this sense that we want to think about light today, because it is through this light that we want all of our own lives, and our own works, to be revealed to us.  We need this light to reveal our potential, to illuminate our own ways and choices and walk through life.  We, too, are taught by Christ to radiate this kind of light and value and worth out to the world, as when Jesus teaches, in the Sermon on the Mount, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  It is this light that we want to think about today, because it is the light we need in order to truly see the path for our footsteps, as well as the light that we are called to reflect in the world.  Some people think of splendor as that which belongs to the generated output of PR agencies, a public relations media machine that can make us famous or well-known.  Those who look to the "stars" of Hollywood as the greatest glory in life can think about what they seek to value or worship in so doing.  But we are called toward a different kind of light and a different kind of glory in life.  We are called to the values of Christ, His weightiness, His worthiness, His light through which He calls us to illuminate our own lives, and to reflect, as well He does Himself, the light of life.  We may call upon God, through Christ, to illuminate our own lives and our pathways so that we also walk in the day, and glorify God through what we do.  We are not called to be great heroes of the popular media, neither are we called to court public opinion as the end-all and be-all of the world.  Jesus warns us about doing good deeds -- and specifically, charitable works --  to be seen by others (Matthew 6:1).   And neither are we told that we must be as popular as possible.   In fact, it is John who condemns the hypocrisy and cowardice of those among the religious leaders who believe in Christ but will not confess Him publicly, when he writes that "they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (see 12:42-43).  We are called first to seek the kingdom of God, and not the kingdom of the world, and then "all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).  The glory of God is the work of God, that which comes through faith and is found through this particular light which is called the light of life.  Our glory comes through God's glory at work in us and through us, through our own consent and the living of our faith -- living by walking in the light that shows us the way for our footsteps.  We need to seek His path, the one that He illumines, and to find His way for us so that we, too, might share in His glory, participating with Him in His life.  If all that sounds much too complicated, think of it like this:  God sheds His light, and we must seek it, so that we can truly see where we are going.  That is the way to the life He offers, and there is no other.