Light of the World

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8: 12 Revised Standard Edition)

Jesus spoke in parables and utilized metaphors often. Since much of their culture as well as their environment contrast significantly to ours, we don't always catch the full significance of his picturesque literary language.

"Light" is one of those metaphors that is used in the Bible numerous times. Yet I have wondered sometimes if it might not also be literal.

I find it fascinating to listen to earlier cultures with their limited knowledge about the secrets of science try to explain phenomena that they observed but didn't fully understand anywhere to the degree that we do now, e.g. the writer(s) of Exodus trying to explain how a burning bush could be glowing as if on fire without being consumed. While I don't know how satisfactorily to explain such a burning bush, the possibilities I might consider can include radioactivity, fusion, chemical reaction, solar flares, aurora borealis, or UV lighting, -- choices that were beyond their awareness. While not clear to many of us today, at least we are aware that the concept exists and open to possible results or by-products.

And by the same token, if one believes that there is a God who created the world and universe, the more we become aware of scientific concepts, the more I personally have to believe that God would also be the author of these concepts. Further, if He is the author, then it seems reasonable to me that He would utilize these concepts.

Obviously, as we learn more in the realm of science, the more we realize how much more is out there that we do not yet understand.

But what if there were a literal component as well -- one that can only be explained by scientific concepts -- authored by God, the Creator -- that we do not yet understand?

There are other unexplained Biblical stories centered on light: Moses coming down from the mountain needing to be veiled to cover a face shining so bright that others could not look at him, Jesus coming down off the mountain after the transfiguration, or flames above the disciples head on the day of Pentecost.

There is one more mystery of the Bible that is not likened to light, but perhaps could be: the trinity. Many of us are not able to envision how God, the Father, and Jesus, the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit can be both one and at the same time, three separate entities.

I have heard metaphors such as water -- that water can be a gaseous vapor, a liquid, and frozen ice. All are water, and yet each can be unique. But that metaphor did not seem satisfactory to me -- it did not give me an example of how all three could be blended together simultaneously.

For me, light would seem like a better metaphor.

Imagine a room that is totally dark, but equipped with three lights -- each spaced at distinctly separate places in the room. Each light can be turned on separately, or in pairs, or all three.

Lighting can be combined -- different in some cases, a red light and a blue light can combined as a distinct blend that is different from either source, or it can be white lights that are impossible for most humans to distinguish separately.

To the average layman, we don't understand how light can combine instantly -- essentially the same, and yet brighter, stronger as another light(s) is(are) added, and at the same time, can just as quickly be separated -- unlike chemical reactions, or physical mixtures that often can not be easily or immediately undone. Essentially for us non-scientists, it is something we do not fully understand, yet easily accept.

Perhaps this metaphor can help us religious laymen to also better accept the notion of a trinity that is both one and separate at the same time.