Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, 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 people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. (John 8:12–20 ESV)
Light fascinates us. It has a unique duality of being both a wavelength and photon, created from the fusion of two atoms. People are mesmerized, puzzled, and comforted by light. All ages, whether we admit it or not, find a sense of relief and enjoyment in light. Think of dusk. The sun sinks below the horizon, and where previously lamps were unnecessary, now in transition, you fumble around until you get fed up and switch on a light. Light brings clarity and vision.
Sin covered the world in darkness, like a spiritual eclipse from the clarity of God’s truth. Jesus stepped into our timeline and became a beacon of light, bringing clarity to life as it should be. Jesus is the standard of life, and his testimony is true. He told Pilate, “I came to testify to the Truth.” Jesus exemplifies humanity as it should be and God’s intent for unity. His life and ministry provide the template for us to walk; his death and resurrection provide the opportunity for unity with God. Now, we walk as children of light.
If you think about it, light comes at a cost. True light that shines in the darkness cost Jesus his life. Light created in the sun by fusion comes at a cost. Temperatures soar in this fusion as the atoms smash together. This can’t be too comfortable for the atoms!
If, as Jesus said in Matthew 5, “[We] are the light of the world,” then we must step into the heightened and intense situations. There is a great story in the book of Susanna, a narrative included in the original book of Daniel. Two Jewish elders lusted for Susanna. When she refuses and struggles to fight them off, they accuse her of false allegations. The community is about to put her to death when, “Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said, ‘O eternal God, you know what is secret and are aware of all things before they come to be; you know that these men have given false evidence against me. And now I am to die, though I have done none of the wicked things that they have charged against me.’ [. . .] The Lord heard her cry. Just as she was being led off to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young lad named Daniel, and he shouted with a loud voice, ‘I want no part in shedding this woman’s blood!’”
Daniel stood against the leaders of the time. In a heightened situation with much to lose, Daniel chose unity with God over comfort and apathy. Light shattered darkness when Daniel stood with God and against the abusive agenda of the leaders. Daniel, standing as light, defended Susanna, saved her life, and let light prevail. Jesus stood in dark times when God’s creation was corrupted by evil and oppressive powers. Unity with God exceeds labels or religious protocols. Unity causes a fusion, and God’s light–love bursts in us, driving out darkness and hatred. While light is dangerous and costly, no earthly leader can compensate for eternal joy. The Church must hold the beacon of light that shines hope and love into the darkness of oppression and hatred.
Lent allows us to reset and realign with the Holy Spirit. Lent reminds us of the standard established by Jesus and what it means to be truly human. May we, like Daniel, shine into the darkness and stand for the innocent and vulnerable, and may we act and stand in light to drive out the darkness confident it will never overcome the light.
Philip Long is a pastor at Hope Point Church in Tacoma, Washington.
