Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." Then the Pharisees said to him, "You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid." Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; 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 witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf." Then they said to him, "Where is your Father?" Jesus answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also." He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
“You judge by human standards; I judge no one.” As we learned yesterday, Jesus forgives and gives guidance more than he judges. And today we get a glimpse of what it means to walk, live, and learn in the light of Christ.
I feel human beings will never be able to completely comprehend God, in all of God’s vast glory. Awesome doesn’t describe it. To me it’s more like incredible, indescribable, inexpressible, and every other superlative you can think of. With that said, we also will never be able to comprehend God’s justice in our human context. However, neither condition keeps us from being drawn to learn and understand. Much like the Pharisees and scribes who don’t understand Jesus’ authority, we are caught in their circle of living and participating with a limited understanding of God.
Recently I heard a someone say that we are all “cracked pots and that we all fall short of the glory of God, and yet we are the plan for bringing God’s Good News to the whole world.” Whether we like the term “cracked pot” or not, it’s a great image for this reading. This is a desperate and broken world that is full of suffering and injustice. This brokenness wasn’t brought about by God, but by our own selfish behaviors. We need God to heal and nurture us in our brokenness. God does that in Jesus, who forgives and guides and judges rightly. It is through our “cracked pots” that the light of Christ shines through.
By following Jesus (and his example of forgiveness and guidance) we are participating in him. (I’ve talked about participation before and its importance.) By participating in Jesus, he dwells in us and we walk in his light as he enlightens our path. Today we have been called to testify to the light. We know that light to be Jesus Christ Our Lord, and we can testify to the ways that God heals us and continues to restore us through Christ. Maybe then we can do our part and help Jesus be a light to others.
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