Light of the World

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.” Then they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. John 8:12-20 


There was always the lighthouse. Although the light was working and rotating in the daytime, we didn't see it. Yet in storms and the dead of night it was there, making rounds, lighting up the whole peninsula and helping direct everyone. Visitors sometimes had trouble sleeping if the light flashed in a bedroom window, thinking it was someone lurking with a flashlight. For those who called the place home, it was the light of comfort and promise, lulling us to sleep in safety.

Jesus calls himself the light of the world. The Pharisees immediately jump on him for saying these things about himself. They couldn't understand because they were not at home with God. They bound themselves to the rules and watched for rule breakers, those lurking around making trouble. Yet for those who make their home with God, who live trusting there is light and promise to each day, we are assured and comforted because God is our home. We are invited to rest in God, in the face of the storms coming and the deep darkness of night, we are always at home.

Today, I ask God to help me settle into the light, to rest in the comfort and promise of Christ. For all who face storms and darkness, may we be comfort and reassurance to them, and help them find a home and rest.