Jesus cried out and said,
“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.
Our daily readings of Saint John's gospel have brought us rather abruptly to a transitional passage between the Book of Signs (John 1:19-12:50) and the Book of Glory (John 13-20:31). The Book of Signs ended with the most astonishing and wonderful sign, the call of Lazarus back to life.
But because real life in this world doesn't end in a Happily Ever After, there followed the conspiracy against Jesus, a prophetic woman anointing his feet, and his going into hiding. (12:36) That withdrawal from public view prepares us for the stunning revelations that will follow.
But as we enter the Book of Glory we hear the Lord crying out in today's gospel. The cry comes not from hiding but rather, is a summation of everything he has said and done to date. If we have understood the signs we are prepared for the glory to come.
First, with this summation, we should understand the Lord is coming from the One who sent him. He is God the Father and Jesus is the Beloved Son (3:16) who is given to death to bring us to life. If we know nothing else about Jesus, we should know he is the Son of God.
Secondly, he has come "...so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness." Unless we believe in Him we remain in darkness.
With this summation, the Lord also insists that he "...did not come to condemn the world but to save the world." He offers us not like a consumer's choice between Cheerios and Wheaties, or Ford and Chevrolet. This is life or death; and no one can not choose. Moses had made the same warning to the Israelites in the Book of Deuteronomy.
I have been reminded recently, in my reading about the Nazi murder of Jews, that every age and every society is violent. But a civilized society successfully removes its violence from the daily experience of most citizens. It is confined to certain parts of the city, or to jails and prisons. Police are supposed to represent the thin blue line between those bounded neighborhoods. Those who live on the safe side of that line might not know, and probably don't want to know, what is happening on the other side. Some will happily chirp that "I don't have an enemy in the world!" They do have many enemies; but they are faceless and removed.
The safe also know, and should never forget, the threat. They too can fall out of their safe zone into violence. It's never far away. Alcohol, drugs, pornography, scamming merchants, insinuating ideologues, scheming politicians, and compromising pastors: all search for prey among God's sheep. Families are betrayed by adultery and divorce. Tragically, some helpless people with schizophrenia are also led into those terrible places where their loved ones cannot reach them.
There are enemies within and enemies without, and our only real hope is faith. The cross of Jesus stands on the dividing line between these two worlds. The wicked and the redeemed see Our Savior crucified. Gazing toward the cross we see brethren and sistren across the line, and recognize both invitations to salvation and damnation.
Our choice of faith in God's Son must be made daily, and many times a day; it must be intentional and fervent. Half-measures do nothing.
