Jesus spoke to them again, saying,
“I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life.”
Paul wrote that the cloud that led the Israelites through the desert and the rock that followed them and gave them water to drink were signs that pointed forward toward Christ. They were signs of baptism by which Christians would receive the living water of the Spirit (see First Corinthians 10:1-3). In today's Gospel Jesus taught that he himself was also the true pillar of fire that would lead his people, keeping them from the perils of walking in darkness.
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night (see Exodus 13:21).
When the world around us seems to be a desert and we don't know the way to the promised land let us look to Christ. When darkness descends and we feel ourselves at risk because we can't see the terrain or the hidden threats of wild beasts let us trust in the light of Christ. The more we see ourselves surrounded by a desert, the more we fear the terrors of the night, the nearer we should draw to the source of light.
So the Pharisees said to him,
“You testify on your own behalf,
so your testimony cannot be verified.”
The testimony of Jesus was illuminated from the inside. It shone with a glory that ought to have been sufficient evidence to those who heard him. To some, who recognized that no one had ever spoken like this before, it was sufficient. But the Pharisees who opposed Jesus were among the group "who does wicked things" and therefore "hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed" (see John 3:20). Let us not invest in sin, death, and darkness, as they did. Doing so eventually brings us to a point that we can't bear to see what the light would reveal about us. Let us instead come to the light, because only in the light do we find a safe path to the promised land.
because 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 by appearances, but I do not judge anyone.
Appearances are deceptive without the illumination only Christ can provide. Our vantage point is too limited, our data too incomplete, to avoid getting lost on our desert journey. We see some facts and some spiritual truths, but without the revelation of God's plan to us we do not see things in their proper perspective. We see instead only a narrow slice of reality. Not realizing where Jesus came from and where he is going means that we don't realize those things about ourselves either. And so we come to imagine ourselves as accidents of chance doomed to a short and ultimately futile existence before we return to the nothingness from which we came. We need Jesus to reveal himself to us, and in doing so, to reveal to us in turn who we are each meant to be.
God loves us. This is the great truth of our life; it is what makes everything else meaningful. We are not the product of blind chance or absurdity; instead our life originates as part of a loving plan of God.
- Benedict XVI
The Father himself desires to confirm in our hearts that reality of his Son. He desires to draw us more and more into the light of truth that we might follow the footsteps of Jesus on a path that came forth from and returns inexorably to the Father himself.
Only when we come to the light we will be truly safe from the risk to which the elders in today's first reading feel prey:
They suppressed their consciences;
they would not allow their eyes to look to heaven,
and did not keep in mind just judgments.
Instead we their example we must entrust ourselves to the one who judges justly just as Susanna did. For us as well God will stir up his Holy Spirit and move us to stand up for justice and truth. For the light is not a place where we merely come and hide in order to be safe. It is a call and a challenge that is meant to put the darkness to flight.
The whole assembly cried aloud,
blessing God who saves those who hope in him.
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