"Light and Darkness"      2011

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7                 John 1:1-14

 

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. 6For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

 

John 1:1-14

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. 6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 14And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

 

Every few years, Christmas day falls on a Sunday.

            Church leaders have to decide if they will hold worship anyway,

                        and families decide whether or not they will attend.

                 I remember from my childhood, that church on Christmas day

                       was not always one of my favorite holiday activities.

 

We were allowed to go through our Christmas stockings early

            but couldn’t take any of the cool, new stuff with us to church…

                        … which mostly whetted the appetite           

                               for the wrapped presents still waiting under the tree,

                                                            … which made the Sunday worship service

                                                                        seem even longer on Christmas day.

 

            One year when we finally got home after church,

                        my big present for Christmas from Santa that year

                                    was a big yellow and blue tractor-trailer truck

                                                that shot missiles from the trailer

                                                            and had a big bright searchlight on it.

I spent a lot of happily content hours playing in our basement

            with the lights all turned off, shining my searchlight,

                        and shooting missiles  from my truck into dark corners.

 

The two passages that we read today, from Isaiah and John,

            both focus on the contrast between light and darkness.

Isaiah 9:2, John 1:9, 5

            The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-- on them light has shined.  The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

 

This passage  we read from Isaiah was a word of hope – God’s promise

            written during a very troubled and dark time in Israel.

 

The political leadership was corrupt and unfaithful to God.

            It was a time of immorality, injustice and economic disaster.

                        The nation was bring threatened by more powerful enemies,

                                    by both the Assyrian and the Babylonian empires.

 

The king of Israel was considering and moving toward

            a military alliance with Egypt against that growing threat.

 

Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, like a beacon of hope,

            God promised that if they were faithful and trusted,

                                    rather than relying on their own military might

                                          and making a disastrous  alliance with Egyptà

                           then God would protect them from their powerful enemies.

 

Isaiah describes God's promise to resolve their dire situation,

            as being like a great light that would shine in the darkness;

                        as assurance and hope that God would not abandoned them

                                         and that like a light, God would shelter

                                                and guide them through the surrounding darkness.

 

That is a welcome word of hope and assurance that I too need to hear,

            and you probably need to hear it  as well;

                  for we know all too well

                                      about scary, dark corners in the basement

                                                and trying to find our way through the darkness…

                   … for these are not the easiest times we are living through.

 

There is terrible and serious upheaval in the world all around us;

            our nation’s politics, the threat of terrorism still remains,

                        and we don’t know the future for the Presbyterian Church.

For many, these are very troubling days of darkness & uncertainty.

 

There is also  other more personal darkness’s closer to home,

            health and emotional issues, employment & financial concerns,

                        or students facing an uncertain future and hard choices.

 

Darkness comes in many, many forms that can threaten to overwhelm;

            but from the gospel of John,   we hear hope & promise from Jesus:

John 1:4-5, John 8:12

            What came into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life."

 

Last night, at the Christmas Eve candlelight services

            we read the Christmas story from the gospels of Matthew & Luke,

                        and we heard the details about the birth of Christ;

                                    Mary, Joseph, Caesar Augustus, shepherds and angels.

But John’s gospel takes a look at it from “a day after perspective”,

     trying to answer,   “what does all that detail really mean?”

 

                        John looks beyond the Hallmark moment of the Nativity

                                    and reflects on the wonder and mystery

                                                of God’s love, grace, mercy and saving-purpose.

In John, the darkness represents spiritual blindness,

            alienation from God, and refusing to believe and follow …

                                    … darkness that is a terrible and frightening place.

 

But like the bright searchlight on my toy truck years ago,

            Jesus is the true light shining into the dark basement corner,

                        and that reveals and guides,  and gives life …

            … enabling us to live beyond mere existence,

                   or just going through the motions of surviving another day.

 

The true light is not just a bright spot in the dark,

            but this Light offends, defies and defeats the darkness;

                        for Jesus is the Light, greater than the darkness,

                                    whose healing is greater than the disease,

                                                who bring joy greater than the sorrow or loss

                                    and peace far greater than our worst fear or anxiety…

 

… which explains why

            our Christmas Eve celebration includes lighting candles…

… for we need to be reminded again and again

            of the true light and hope   in this world   so lost in darkness,

                        and that in fact,

                                    the deeper the darkness,   the brighter the light…

 

… which means that we can

            walk out into the darkness and face whatever shadows await,

                        and be certain, absolutely certain that we will

                                    never be abandoned or alone, however lost we may feel.

            Jesus will always show us the way,

                        shine in the darkness,  and bring light into our lives.

 

As I reflect on the Christmas’ of my life,

            by far the most significant, necessary and meaningful

                        was during the worst and most terrible time of my life.

 

I was in agony, and there seemed to be nothing I could do about it,

            and nothing that I could hold onto ---- except

                        that God was with me, even in that hopelessly dark place.

 

It was there that I learned

            how precious and utterly reliable God’s gift of grace really is

                                    and that the nature and purpose of God is à

                                         perfectly and truthfully revealed in Jesus Christ.

 

Though the difficult situations and trials of our lives

            may not change simply because we celebrate the birth of Christ;

                             yet that coming Light can and does radically change

                                       how we see them, how we react and respond to them…

            …  giving us the will and the courage we need to endure,

                        to trust and wait upon the Lord’s purpose and blessing,

                                    the Light that overcomes the darkness around all us.

 

And so that is why our Christmas celebration,

            and the joy of this day is so entirely appropriate…

                        … for us to exchange, open and unwrap Christmas presents,

                                    to spend time with loved ones and special people.

            Even glitter and tinsel,

                        can express and reflect God’s love and blessings toward us

                           that has the power to heal, restore and change our lives.

 

There is a moment of Christmas for each of us,

            that comes down to a choice,

                        how will I decide to respond to the Light of God’s love?       

 

John’s gospel describes three possible responses:  vs. 10

            He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.

            more than just knowledge, the Greek infers a relationship;

                        that some would decide, not to walk with God.

 

vs. 11

            He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.          

                        some would decide,

                                    not to obey and follow the ways of Christ.

 

vs. 12

            But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.

            To be a child of God,

                is to live our lives defined by God's love, mercy and grace.

            It is not about feeling driven and duty-bound,

                        but, gratitude and hope  make us more aware of the Light

                                    and  more attune to God's blessings and abundance.

 

Col. 1:13-14, 2 Cor. 9:15

            He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!