Chapter eight of St. John’s Gospel, from which we read today and will read tomorrow, is a difficult chapter to get through. Unfortunately, the framers of the Lectionary for Daily Mass made it a little more difficult by failing to include the incident which occasioned this polemic or disputation. At the beginning of chapter eight, Jesus stands in the courtyard of the Temple as the Jewish people are celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles. The purpose of the feast was to remind the Jewish people that God had chosen to dwell among his people. As the people gathered around a large fire to commemorate the pillar of fire that guided them through the desert, Jesus proclaimed, “I AM the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
By using the very name that God used as Moses prostrated himself before the burning bush, Jesus very clearly identifies himself as the One sent by God and of whom Moses wrote. Jesus then tells them that they will not recognize him as the Christ until he has returned to the Father.
He uses the term “lifted up” as a way to describe what will happen to him. He will be lifted up on a cross much the same as the bronze serpent was lifted up on a pole as the children of Israel moved through the desert. He will be lifted up three days later as he breaks the bonds of death and rises from the dead. He will be lifted up into heaven where he will sit at the right hand of God. Like the Israelites of old, those who look upon him as he hangs on the cross, those who place their faith in him and in his resurrection and ascension, will be saved from their sins.
The Pharisees refuse to see Jesus for who he really is. They keep asking him to identify himself even after he has clearly told them who he is. Their hearts have been hardened so they cannot hear what he has to say to them.
Whenever we look upon the crucifix, we are looking at our own sins. We might be tempted to see the sins of others as we look at a crucifix. Like the Israelites in the desert, if we look upon the cross and see our own guilt, we will be healed. Otherwise, we will continue to live in darkness.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator