Believe in the light, that you may become sons of light

 

 "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 12:27–36a 

 

Yesterday we read there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the Passover feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, "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."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Jesus refers to His human soul, and that in His desire for life, He is in conflict with what the Father wants of Him.  But in all things, He is obedient and unified to the Father.  My study bible explains that the Father's name is an extension of His Person.  The Son's death completes the purpose of the Father, showing God's love for all and thus glorifying God.   It paraphrases Christ as saying, "Father, lead Me to the Cross."  This is Christ's divine response to the human impulse to avoid the Cross.  The Father's response refers to the signs already performed by Christ, and to the death and Resurrection to come.  

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 comments that although the Father spoke clearly, some people heard indistinct sounds like thunder, because they lacked faith.  Those with a little faith heard the words but did not know the source, thinking it was an angel.  The disciples knew that it was the Father who had spoken.

"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.  To be lifted up is another reference to Christ being hung on the Cross (see also 3:14-15, 8:28).   This death, my study bible says, 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.

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.  My study bible tells us that the light refers to Christ (see also 1:4-9, 8:12).   It says that Christ's teaching here has several facets of meaning.  First, Christ will soon be completing His public ministry.  Moreover, our own lives are quite limited; we have a short time to repent and to believe in Christ before death.   And then, finally, the second coming of Christ is but a little while when we compare it to eternity.

Jesus refers to Himself once again as the light.  His is the guiding light for us to follow.  His words are light, and they are life.  He shows us the way.  How is this true in your life?  As we listen to Jesus in today's reading, we observe His dedication to the will of the Father.  He will go to the Cross, although His human soul resists it, in order to fulfill His mission.  But He knows the Father is love, and He knows that He goes to the Cross for judgment.  Jesus says of this hour of the Cross:  "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out."    There is no doubt of the link between the Cross and judgment:  the "judgment of this world" is also the time "the ruler of this world will be cast out."  His is the light that casts out the ruler of darkness.  At the same time, Christ is lifted up as the One who will draw all peoples toward Himself.   The implication is that He comes to bring a shift into the world, a displacement of the "ruler of this world" whom He casts out by being lifted up on the Cross, whose place He will take as He draws all peoples to Himself.  We who live in this time as we await His return are in the midst of that transition.  It is hard to see, and we may become lost in despair and sadness at what we see in our world, be might become frightened and disheartened, but nevertheless this is His message to us.  He is working to replace that cruel, evil, hard ruler of this world who could be behind the suffering and death of the sinless person who loved us and died for us.  If we continue to see the effects of evil in our world, we need to hear the words of St. Peter, reminding us what the Psalmist teaches:  "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8, Psalm 90:4).  We are all in this crucible, the time of the Cross initiated by Christ's being lifted up.  We either stand in His light to witness His truth, or we reject it for ourselves.  We are all in this world together, but we know that His message to us is to endure, to stand firm in the ways we are taught, to walk while we have the light, and to become sons of light.  Let us remember this every time we look around, every time we find things that disturb our quiet, when our souls are troubled and let us know that the shadow of darkness is still in some forms with us.  We would do well to remember that every step we take following His light becomes a part of witnessing for Him, a part of the judgment of which He speaks.  Let us remember today His words that are still so powerful and remain true with us, who seek to follow Him and become sons of light.