John 8:12-30

"I am the light of the world." (8:12)

One summer our very young daughters wanted a volunteer to stay up all night to see the sun rise. A vote was taken and I was conscripted. It involved two overnights, since they each selected different dates and places to see the sun rise.

It was a long wait. We filled the time watching television, eating, playing games and and other amusing activities to keep us awake.

Then it happened.

Slowly at first. The deep darkness lightened slightly. We could see the light whipping over the horizon, bouncing along the water, changing shadows into real trees and houses and filling the sky with a brilliant blazing red hue. We imagined that every corner of the land and every crevice of the rocky coastline were now alive with the light. As we recounted the second when dawn appeared, we too felt that we were filled with the light of a new day.

I believe this parallels our relationship with God. Isaiah wrote that the people who sat waiting in the darkness have finally seen a great light. Jonah tried to run away from God, until the light of God’s mission to save people snapped on in his mind.

In the reading today, Jesus is trying to do the same thing. He taunts the Pharisees that if they knew God they would know Jesus. He tried to turn on the light of their souls, but as the comedian said, ‘there was nobody home’.

An interesting detail in this story is that Jesus was teaching in the room "where the offering boxes were stored" (8:20). It would be a busy place as people came to, as we say, ‘give their collection’. Many people would come daily to do their duty, Jesus was there to show them WHY they were doing their duty.

Same with us.

We need the light of Jesus within our personal lives to guide us, especially during troubling times. Every society and nation needs a guiding light to indicate what needs to be done and where it should be heading. God/Jesus is the light to follow.

Let the light so shine within you and away from you so that people may see that you have decided to follow the ‘true light’ of God.

(Today's post is submitted by guest writer, Rev. Hollis Hiscock.)