Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of John (12: 44-50) in which Jesus says, ‘I, the light have come into the world so that whoever believes in me need not stay in dark anymore’.

Fr Paul says the Gospel of John can be divided into two halves, the Book of Signs is one and the Book of Glory, the other.

The noble statement made in this Gospel marks the end of the Book of Signs. It comes after the formal conclusion of the Book and it sums up the whole ministry of Jesus, bringing together sayings pronounced on various occasions, touching on the major themes of the teaching of Jesus, which have been prominent in the Gospel readings since Easter.

Especially prominent are the Johannine oppositions: dark and light, judge and save, reject and believe.

The summary begins and ends with the unity of the Father and Jesus, and so their union of purpose. Jesus underlines that the purpose of his mission is not to judge the world but to save it, and that the condition of salvation is to believe in him.

Fr Paul says today might reflect that for the Gospel writer, John, the one condition for salvation is faith.