Even in the midst of an empire that crucifies the innocent for political gain, despair is not warranted. Instead, there is work to be done.

Any effort to secure special status in the eyes of God is a rejection of manna. God’s grace and provision cannot be manipulated by humans for their own ends. It might appear successful. It might even help win an election. But hoarded manna will always become “wormy and rotten” (Exodus 16:20).

Mutual knowing is not a given in relationships…

In this passage in John, light is associated with Jesus and with the love of God for the entire world. Light is explicitly linked with a capacious love that was present from the beginning of creation and includes all of creation. It is therefore opposed to racism of any kind. 

The capacious and eternal love of God is neither a verifiable fact nor an opinion, but a theological truth-claim, staked on trust in Jesus as a credible witness. Christians who believe in such love should be wary of both the politics of condemnation and the politics of purity.