"Whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.” (John 3:21)

“And this is the verdict, that the Light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil… But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.” (John 3: 19 & 21)

There is so much symbolism that needs to be unpacked in this passage. The image of “light” is profoundly important throughout the Gospel of John. The whole Gospel shows that Jesus is “the light of the world” (John 8:12), and that through Jesus people become “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). According to the University of Michigan Dictionary of Symbolism, “Light is the divine; it is illumination and intelligence. Light is the source of goodness and the ultimate reality. Cosmic energy, creative force and optimism are all related to light.” Darkness is the complete opposite of Light. The Dictionary of Symbolism states that, “darkness can encompass a primitive chaos, and the powers of that chaos; it is largely associated with death and destruction, and captivity.”

It is very interesting that in our passage today, Jesus is speaking directly to the Pharisee named Nicodemus. It is important to note that “he came to Jesus at night” in verse 2. He was in both physical and spiritual darkness at the start of the chapter, and he goes to Jesus looking for light. He knows that Jesus “has come from God” because of the signs that he had done in Jerusalem. Light is of God, pure and simple. People who seek after goodness, creativity, and optimism are seeking the light of God. That is what we see Nicodemus doing here. 

Fr. Richard Rohr reminds us of another important characteristic of Light in The Universal Christ (2019, p.14): “Remember, light is not so much what you directly see, as that by which you see everything else… Jesus Christ is the amalgam of matter and spirit put together in one place, so we ourselves can put it together in all places, and enjoy things in their fullness.”

But seeing through the light is a choice that all people must make.

Our passage says that “people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.”

If darkness is “chaos” and “destruction”, we can see evidence of people preferring that lifestyle every day in our world. It is so much easier to riot and destroy things than it is to come to the table for discussion and problem-solving measures with people with whom you do not agree. It is much easier to eat junk-food and to sit as a “couch-potato” than it is to eat healthy and exercise the body, which is “the temple of the Lord.  And it is easier to drown our fears and problems in drugs and alcohol than it is to pray, or go to therapy, or join a twelve-step community who can help lift the burden of addiction. 

“But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.” This is a choice that people make. We need to seek after the illumination and intelligence that is found in the Light of God. We need to seek the creative, optimistic view of life to try to solve world and personal problems. In essence we need to humbly come to God, as Nicodemus did, and ask for the light of God to shine in our darkness. Through the light of God, we gain the energy (light is energy after all) to do the work necessary to be loving, creative, and filled with the divine. Fr. Rohr says, “God seems to have chosen to manifest the invisible in what we call the ‘visible’, so that all things visible are the revelation of God’s endlessly diffusive spiritual energy.” 

As we approach the darkest days of the year during the season of Advent, let us look to the incarnation of Christ to brighten our world view. Let us turn to Christ for the energy to do the works of light: choosing peace instead of conflicts; doing the work necessary to be physically healthy; and seeking creativity and optimism as a pathway to solve problems.