Chapel Matters
During Term Two we light the Paschal Candle in chapel. This reminds us that Jesus is the Risen Christ who is the light of the world. John’s Gospel is where we find Jesus say, “I am the light of the world” (John 8.12), and there are seven “I am” statements in this gospel. They all involve some form of metaphor which tell us something about Jesus, such as being “the light of the world.” This week in chapel we looked at two more of these sayings: “I am the resurrection and the life” (11.25), and “I am the way, the truth and the life” (14.6).
The first saying comes in the context of the death of Jesus’ friend Lazarus where we have the shortest verse in the whole Bible: “Jesus wept” (11.35). Jesus then brings Lazarus back to life, and whatever the facts of the story, it illustrates the truth that even in the most desperate moments of despair and grief, new life can still come. Even when it seems that all is lost, when even someone like Jesus is deeply troubled, there is still hope. No matter what mistakes we have made, or what hurts have been done to us, there is always the hope of forgiveness, of fresh starts and new beginnings, of the tender unfurling of new life – these things are ours in Jesus, the Jesus who wept, and who is also the resurrection and the life.
The second saying comes in the context of Easter, when Jesus knows that he is about to die. He speaks to his disciples telling them to love one another, just as he has loved them. Although this saying is sometimes used to argue that only Christians will go to heaven, or that other religions are going the wrong way, the key message of this saying is found in this context of love. Love is the way – this is the truth about living in this world; the way to have the best life is to live a life of love: to know and experience the love of Jesus for us, of God for the world, to love one another, the world we live in, and God. This saying of Jesus is not a narrow, black and white, judgmental statement but it is a challenge to find life in the way of a broad, multi-directional all-encompassing love. And that is the truth.