At that time, Jesus spoke to the multitudes of the Jews, saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows Me does not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said to Him, You bear witness to Yourself. Your witness is not true. Jesus answered and said to them, Even if I bear witness to Myself, My witness is true, because I know where I came from and where I go. But you do not know where I came from or where I go. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. And even if I do judge, My judgment is true, because I am not alone, but with Me is He Who sent Me, the Father. And in your Law it is written that the witness of two persons is true. It is I Who bear witness to Myself, and He Who sent Me, the Father, bears witness to Me. They therefore said to Him, Where is your Father? Jesus answered, You know neither Me nor My Father. If you knew Me, you would then know My Father also. Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, while teaching in the temple. And no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.

John 8:12-20

When I was young, I lived in a very old Edwardian house in a small town that had a staircase that went down to the kitchen off a maid’s bedroom, a split staircase, a stained glass window, a bathroom off my and my brother’s bedroom that had white shag carpet. It was a nice house, but for someone younger like myself it was filled with ghosts and creaks and terrors at night.

When I would wake up in the middle of the night in fear, I would sing a hymn based on this passage:

I am the light of the world!

You people come and follow me!

If you follow and love, you’ll learn the mystery

of what you were meant to do and be!

After singing those lines in my head, never out loud, the terrors would pass away.

When we know who we are, when we have the confidence of the knowledge of our place in the world with our feet on the ground, there is a strength that fortifies our limbs and our heart. We judge from a foundation of innate truth. We have confidence that is not cocky–it’s assured and humble at the same time.

Questioned, Jesus responds “You don’t know me or the Father.” They are accusing out of a lack of assurance in themselves. They are a mob mentality, an individual consciousness with training wheels. It’s like me in that house, knowing that the walls supported the roof, it was warm in the winter, but not being 100% sure when the next ghost was going to terrorize me.

As the fourth psalm says: In peace and in self same, I will sleep and I will rest. For Thou hast settled me in hope.