Turn on the light

According to John, today’s Gospel marks the end of Jesus public ministry, everything that happens after that is between Jesus and his disciples, until we get to the events of the passion.

So we could say, that today’s Gospel is kind of like a summary statement of what Jesus is all about: we might compare it to an artist who is showing us their work from across their career and saying “This is who I am as an artist”

In John this morning, we see a lot of re touches on Jesus’ main themes;

• If we believe in Jesus, we believe in the one who sent him ( The Father)
• Jesus being the light “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness”
• Finally Jesus emphasises that the words he speaks are the Father’s words.

So, what might this mean for a small group of worshipers gathered in Hastings this morning?

Well, I kind of see it like a check in: God’s checking with us and it’s a chance for us to see where our hearts are.

Jesus is offering his unnamed audience and us the chance to walk in the light, to see reality and ourselves in the clearest possible way, to know what hope and comfort are, so that we might make these things known in our community and the wider world.

As with many parts of the Holy scripture, Todays reading contains contrasts: it gets us thinking about what life is like when we walk in the light and what is like when we don’t:

Jesus wants to light up the heart of humanity with

• Love
• Caring
• Compassion

Just us Jesus is raises his voice and cries out, he’s calling on us to do Exactly the same thing: to raise our voices and cry out, not with a A message of moralism but rather with a message that says “ We are here, we love you, we will walk with you and light your path. Amen!