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     Today's passage from the Gospel of John brings to a close what scripture scholars call the "Book of Signs."   Again it would be helpful to read a bigger portion by starting at verse 36.  There the narrator tells us that Jesus brought his ministry to an end and went into hiding.  The narrator gives a very sad reflection on the failure of Jewish authorities to accept Jesus, and on the failure of those who rejected Jesus out of fear.  He sees it as a sad fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah.  Then (in today's passage) the voice of Jesus' appears again, almost as an echo or a cry from off stage (remember the dramatic quality of the gospel), Jesus provides a further summary.  This summary should send us back to the "Prologue" where we are warned from the very beginning of the story that people would choose darkness instead of light.

     What captures my attention is the point about partial belief which is stymied by fear.  I encountered this from time to time in my university pastoral ministry.  Students or faculty members might be attracted to belief but fears of all kinds act like a weight or counter force to that attraction.  I do remember one student, however, who came to me for instruction and when, towards the end, I asked him why he had decided to come to the church, he answered, "I'm reaching for the light."  Some of the fears include a kind of "loss of control" which a person may feel in giving their allegiance to Christ!  Another fear is what one's friends and colleagues may think, with a possible loss of their friendship.  The Gospel of John speaks of this as a preference for human glory over God's glory.  

     By starting at verse 36, and then going back to the Prologue to the gospel, we attain a "big picture" of Jesus' ministry in the Gospel of John, before we plunge into the "Book of Glory" with a very different challenge to our faith.   AMEN