Meditation for January 9, 2008

From The Rev. Peter A. Munson

John 8:12-20

 

12 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." 13 Then the Pharisees said to Him, "You are testifying on Your own behalf; Your testimony is not valid."  14 Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on My own behalf, My testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and I where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.  15 You judge by human standards; I judge no one.  16 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.  17 In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid.  18 I testify on My own behalf, and the Father who sent Me testifies on My behalf."  19 Then they said to Him, "Where is your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You neither know Me nor my Father.  If you knew Me, you would know My Father also." 20 He spoke these words while He was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested Him, because His time had not yet come.

 

The Testimony of the Father

 

It is often the case in the Gospels that when Jesus is talking with people who are mystified about who He is, or challenging His authority, or even plotting against Him, there are two different levels of dialog going on.  Think of Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3), or Jesus and  the woman at the well (John 4). It is also common in these situations for Jesus to contrast the human agenda of His counterpart with the divine agenda of God. (See verse 15 above, and also Mark 8:31-33, where Jesus rebukes Peter, immediately after Peter had rebuked Jesus, upon hearing Jesus talk about the way that He would suffer, be rejected, and be killed.)  The "two ships passing in the night" dialog here has to do with Jesus' identity and origin. The Pharisees are claiming to know Jesus and His background. His parents are Joseph and Mary, His dad is a carpenter, we know His brothers and sisters, etc. Jesus is saying that they really don't know Him at all, and when He speaks of His Father, He is referring to His Father in heaven, who testifies on His behalf (verse 18) and who has sent Him into the world (verse 16).

 

Yes, it's true, Jesus says: there is a Jewish law that did not accept an individual's testimony about matters that concerned himself.  But, Jesus says, "I testify on My own behalf, and the Father who sent Me testifies on My behalf."  (verse 18)  It seems to me, Jesus put GREAT stock in His Father's faith in Him, not only in this story, but throughout His ministry, right down to the time that He was nailed to the cross. We might ask: How could Jesus have done all the things He did without this kind of faith in His heavenly Father? He knew, to the core of His being, that His Father loved Him and believed in Him.  And He kept hearing that message.

 

He heard it right before His public ministry began, at His baptism, when "He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is My Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.'" (Matthew 3:16-17)  He heard it again on the Mount of Transfiguration, when - like Moses receiving the Law on Mt. Sinai - He had a very personal encounter with God, and Peter's excited ramblings were interrupted when the bright cloud overshadowed Jesus, Peter, James and John, and they heard a voice say, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with Him I am well pleased; listen to Him!" (Matthew 17:4-5)  You get the sense that every time that Jesus rose early and headed up to a nearby mountain to pray, He heard His Father reiterate how much He loved His Son, how much He believed in Him, and how He would always be with Him.  And therefore, Jesus could say with confidence (even if it eventually led to charges of blasphemy being brought against Him), "The Father who sent Me testifies on My behalf."

 

I should think that the lesson for you and for me would be obvious. From our baptism, God, our heavenly Father, has proclaimed, "This is My beloved daughter... this is My beloved son... with whom I am well pleased."  Our heavenly Father continues to whisper or shout this message in our ears, if we would but listen. Our heavenly Father says to you and to me, "I love you.  I believe in you.  You have a divine calling - to bear witness to me and to love others in the name of My Son, and in the power of the Spirit. I will always be with you."

 

And when we get anxious or fearful, or wonder if it is really worth it when we are trying to do the right thing, the loving thing, the thing that God would have us do, and life seems very difficult in that moment, we must remember that the Father who loves us and believes in us and sends us out into the world, to help build His kingdom, testifies on our behalf. The heavenly Father shouts to all who will listen: "You see My servant Chris down there? You see My servant Millie? You see my servant Aaron and My servant Erik and My servant Sady and My servant Torie and My servants Kaitlyn and Wenli and Janelle and Jeri and Catherine and Terry and Roger and Dora and Betty and Bob and Nilda and Hugh and Anita and John and Ellen and Jeff and Greg and Amelia and Christian and Cheryl and Lorraine and Kris and Tucker and all of the rest of My servants down there, doing their best to serve Me?  Aren't they great? Isn't it amazing what light comes forth from them, when they stay connected to My Son?"

 

When you and I stay connected to the Source of Light and Life, then we are the light of the world, too, just as Jesus predicted we would be. (Matthew 5:14-16)  And our heavenly Father is not at all hesitant to testify on our behalf, when we are about His work, in the same way that He was not at all hesitant to testify on Jesus' behalf, when Jesus was about His work. May we stop and be still - long enough to hear our Father's testimony.  Let us hear what God is saying about those all around us. And let us not be afraid to hear the words that He is saying directly to us, too.