He
who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. John 12:35-50
I would like us to consider the words of Christ which we have heard in
the Gospel this morning. It seems to me that we are being taught a variety of
lessons by them. Of course, everything our Lord says is filled with
inexhaustible meaning, and cannot be reduced to a single explanation. Perhaps
if we review the words of our Lord again we will find a true and useful meaning
for our own lives in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. He begins his
address by saying,
He
who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.
There are two things which immediately spring to mind on reading this
sentence. In the first place we understand that Christ is of the Father, and is
not a mere prophet. He defines his relationship with the Father as being the
one who is sent by the Father. More than that, those who place their trust in
Christ are placing their trust in the Father. I would like us to consider how
this relationship should perhaps apply to our own lives as Christians. What
would it mean for us to be able to say that we are also sent by the Father? And
of course in a secondary sense we are indeed sent into the world to do the will
of the Father. But what does it mean, how does it change our attitudes to other
people and to the situations we find ourselves in if we view ourselves as those
who have been sent with a mission?
We can recall the passage in Hebrews which reminds us that it was ‘for
the joy set before him’ that Christ endured the cross and the shame. Indeed our
Lord continues and says,
He
who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that
whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
Not only is Jesus Christ sent into the world by the Father, and not
only is there an identity between Christ and the Father, so that to believe in
Christ is to believe in the
Father. But to see Christ is in some sense to see the Father. This
does not mean that Jesus Christ IS the Father, as some ancient heretics taught,
but that Jesus Christ is the true image or true icon of the Father, as
representing him completely and perfectly in the world. When we see Christ, we
see the Word of the Father made flesh, and the Word eternally expresses the
Father as his own Word.
What does this all mean for us? Of course as Christians ourselves we
have believed in Christ, we have seen him with the eyes of our spirit, and we
have been illuminated by the divine light of his glory so that we no longer
walk in darkness. And our faith in Christ reveals the Father to us, whom we
know as we abide in Christ. To know Christ is to know the Father.
But what does this mean for us as we live our lives as those who bear
the image of Christ in the world. It seems to me that to have a sense that we
are sent, to have a sense that others see the God when they see us, and to have
a sense that we are to be light in the world – all of these reflecting the life
and ministry of the Word of God in the world – must make a difference.
In the first place, we must surely consider that we are not in the
world for ourselves, or for our own aims and ambitions, but we are people who
are on a mission to do God’s will. We have been sent into the world and are to
be engaged in God’s mission. This must affect the way we deal with people, the
way we cope with difficult circumstances, and the way we conduct ourselves in
holiness and devotion. We are men and women on a mission, on God’s mission.
Not only must we seek to act as God would wish us, but we must be
aware as far as we are able that others will see God in us as far as we live a
life of obedience and faithfulness. There is a true sense in which God reveals
himself to the world through our lives. This is a risky business. We know how
weak and sinful we are. But it is a tremendous privilege and responsibility to
be God’s ambassadors to those around us. It is a privilege because to share in
God’s work is to be sharing in the life of God. But it is also a responsibility
because our every sinful action and hasty word serves to obscure the light of
God in the world.
Our Lord continues,
And
if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did
not come to judge the world but to save the world
We may be eternally grateful that Christ, the Word of God, has come
into the world as Saviour and not as Judge, because we know that we deserve
judgement and yet have received mercy. But surely this is another standard by which
we must live our lives as Christians, as icons of Christ in the world. We may
hope to live as those who reflect the life of God and bring life to others by
the way we live. Yet there will always be those who have rejected God, and will
reject us. How do we respond to others in such circumstances? Surely it must
not be with thoughts or words of judgement. How much more did our Lord have the
right to judge others when they rejected him, and when they rejected the salvation
he had come into the world to offer to men. Yet he was silent before his
accusers. He never raised his voice. He never defended himself.
This passage teaches us how we should live the Christian life. Christ
himself is our example. He was sent on a mission from the Father, and he
revealed the Father to the
world. He did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. All
of these characteristics apply to us, because we are ‘in Christ’ if we are Christians.
Such characteristics, when given force by the Holy Spirit, will transform the
way we live. We can never think ourselves worthless, because God has chosen us,
to use us to reveal himself in the world.
We can never consider any moment of our lives to be pointless, because
in each moment we are to be light in the world. We can never fear what others
say of us or to us, because we are not judges of the world, but are to share
the salvation of Christ with the world.
Each moment matters, and our lives matter, because we are sent by God
to bring the presence of God to those around us. Let us consider how best to be
light to those we meet at work this week, to our families, our friends, the people
we meet in the shops or even on the road. How we live our lives matters, it
really matters, because it is through our lives that God chooses to make
himself known.
Of course the Holy Spirit acts wherever God chooses, and is not
limited by our weakness. But we have a divine calling to share in the ministry
of Christ in the world, and this ministry is not something optional or extra to
the Christian life, it is of the very essence of our life in Christ.
May the Lord grant us an appreciation of this ministry. May we
understand that we have been sent into the world as ministers of the Gospel.
May we seek the grace of God so that our lives are a light to those around us.
Who will we meet this week, how will we live, what will we ask for grace to
change in our hearts, so that our lives are in a true and mystical sense one
with Christ and one with the Father? Christ is our example, but he is also the
source of the grace we need to live as he did. May we turn to him asking earnestly
for all that we need to reflect Christ in the world.
To the glory of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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