Light is one of the universal religious metaphors in our world. Jews have Hanukkah, or festival of lights; Hindus and Sikhs have Diwali; Buddhists talk about the path to enlightenment. Light is one of the few images to have almost universally positive connotations. 1.5 million people each year even take about 12 million trips to Blackpool for its illuminations, and other attractions, making it the second most popular single European tourist destination after St Peter’s in Rome. Strange but true.
So, what is it about the Christian understanding of light that makes it so distinctive? What have we got to say about it that sheds any unique, well, I have to use the word, light on the subject? Or is today’s passage just a Christian version of something which all religions can aspire to?
It all comes down to the source: lots of religious teaching on light says: ‘this is the light’. Only Jesus says: I am the light. And not just for my followers, for the whole world: (v12) ‘Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’
In saying ‘I am the light,’ Jesus is not just pointing to his divine identity, he is saying some other vital things as well: first, I am the source of life. Matter needs light to grow – the ancients didn’t have the scientific proof of photosynthesis, but they knew it all the same. As chapter 1 of John says: ‘in Jesus was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.’ We don’t just need sunlight, we need Son-light. Today’s word from Jesus is an invitation to life, life in all its fullness. Where is Jesus inviting you to enter more fully into his life?
Second, Jesus is telling us that he is the source of truth. Returning to ch1, the Light is also the Word, or as Psalm 119 famously puts it: ‘your word is a lamp to my feet and a…? light to my path.’ Light and truth are connected – think of the phrase ‘to shed light’ on things. Jesus’ light is there to guide us, to direct our paths. So, our second invitation from Jesus for today is: is there something in your life where you need Jesus’ light for your path? Why not ask him to shine his light, to help you see the way ahead?
Finally, Jesus is telling us that he is the source of goodness. This is the more challenging aspect, one which Jesus refers to in chapter 3 of John: ‘Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.’ When we come into Jesus’ light, it both causes us to grow, but also shines a light into the dark places, it exposes things which Jesus wants to heal or to change. So, our third invitation from Jesus for today is: is there something ‘dark’ in your life where you need Jesus’ light?
Jesus invites us, today and every day, to come into his light. To experience his life, to shine his light on the paths of our life, and to expose the things which need to change or heal. By God’s grace, will you accept that invitation today? Whoever follows him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Amen.