I Am the Light of the World

Friends,

This week we continue with the "I am" sayings in the Gospel of John.

In the passage for Sunday Jesus heals a man blind from birth as a sign that Jesus is "the light of the world."

The miraculous feeding of thousands with bread and fish in chapter six gives occasion for Jesus to proclaim "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

Now, Jesus proclaims: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." John 8:12

The metaphor is first introduced in John 8:12 following Jesus' compassionate and forgiving approach to the woman caught in adultery. Then the metaphor is expanded in the healing of the blind man in chapter 9.

Light is introduced in the first chapter of the Bible, in Genesis 1 where "in the beginning God when created the heavens and the earth the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep... then God said, Let there be light; and there was light." In the final chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22:5, in the vision of the new heaven and new earth:"there will be no more light; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light."

In between the first chapter of Genesis and the final chapter of Revelation, light appears throughout the journey of God's people.

Abraham is promised in Genesis 22:17 that his offpsring will be as numerous "as the stars."

God appears to Moses in the light of a burning bush in Exodus 3.

The people are led out of slavery and travel to the promised land as led by a pillar of fire by night described in Exodus 40:38.

The people of God misunderstand who they are to be in God's world - and the prophet Isaiah calls them to understand themselves as a light to the world in Isaiah 42:6:

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations."

This image from Isaiah is surely in the mind of Christ as he declare himself the light of the world in the Gospel of John and as he speaks to his disciples in Mathtew 5:14-16:

You are the light of the world...let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."

To walk in the light is to walk in forgiveness - as illustrated in I John 1:5-9.

In the Gospel of John, there is always a figurative and a literal level of meaning. Jesus heals a blind man - and at the same time shows through the events around the healing that blindness is not physical, but spiritual.

True blindness is a darkness of the heart, a refusal to be open to the light of understanding in Christ. When we "see" Jesus, we see everything around us in a new light as well.

Friends, let us open our eyes to the light of the world and let us follow the example of Jesus, who reach out with his hands to touch a world in need. We are now the hands of Christ in the world.


The Gospel Lesson - John 9:1-41
9As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, 7saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. 8The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” 12They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” 13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” 16Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. 17So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.” 18The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21but we do not know howit is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 24So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” 25He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29We know that God has spoken toMoses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. 32Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out. 35Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” 37Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” 38He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. 39Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” 40Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” 41Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.