LIGHT AND THE LIGHTS

Dr. Richard J. Henderson January 2, 2005

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Jeremiah 31: 7-14
John 1: 1-18

Introduction

You are in a dark, warm, comfortable place. You have everything you need. You are curled up, relaxed, at ease. Life is good. Then you feel pressure; something is changing. Your comfortable little spot is beginning to move. Suddenly the warm liquid that surrounds you breaks open and flows away. Your world is beginning to come apart! You feel a squeezing. You are being pushed. A little later, your head emerges from the dark warmth into a bright, cold, frightening place. You can't breathe. It's not the same. Then all of a sudden you draw in air, you take a breath, and let out a scream. Someone gives you a swat. Now you are breathing in and out. You've been born.

You notice lights all around. A large, harsh light shines right above you. There are smaller lights around the outside of the room. There are soft lights, brilliant lights, and covered lights. You have been born into a world of lights. They're everywhere.

I

That's our world - a world of lights. Not only are there natural lights, but the world is filled with artificial lights too. The natural lights - the sun, moon, stars - give off or reflect their light without any help. They are just there. On a bright sunny day, the sun beats down heating us or even burning us with its light.

On gray, overcast, murky days, we may never see the sun at all. On dark, stormy days, the sky turns black from the dark clouds. The artificial lights are the ones we've invented. Ever since the light bulb was invented, we have been bombarded with light. The Las Vegas strip is the epitome of commercial lights - with lights flashing, blaring, running, and even spelling out messages. Sometimes lights scream, sometimes they whisper. We live in a world filled with lights.

II

John says that Jesus is the Light of the World. By sending Jesus into the world, God sent light into our darkness. "The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world." This isn't just one light among hundred's of others, this is the light of the world. Our world is filled with lots of lights. Some lights are like headlights that shine ahead, showing us our way. Some are distracting lights, flashing, glaring - drawing us from going where we want to go. Some lights are weak, like the dimming flashlight whose battery is almost gone. Some cheap lights burn out quickly.

The light that God sent is different. It is the light that lasts - the light that keeps on shining when the rest have faded.

The Light from God is as different from the distracting lights around us, as the sun is from the twinkle lights on our wilting Christmas tree. God's light is powerful. It's bright enough to lighten up the whole world. It will not fade or burn out. God loves us and so God sends his light into our dark world.

III

It is said that it's better to light a light than to try to chase out the darkness. Try to imagine how we would get rid of darkness without the help of light. Darkness isn't a substance we can pack up and move. Darkness is the absence of light. We get rid of darkness by bringing in light.

In the same way, rather than trying to ward off evil by ourselves, it makes more sense to equip ourselves with the Light. It's very difficult to battle evil alone. What we need to clear out the darkness is to take hold of the light. What other equipment do we have for overcoming darkness?

I don't know, for example, how parents can raise kids in today's world without faith and the church. Where do you find the strength to help kids resist everything that is unhealthy in the world? What standard do you use to say what is right and wrong if it isn't based on religious moral values?

It's a lot easier to take on the darkness if you have a strong light, to light your way.

IV

The first of the year is a time when people make New Year's resolutions. At the beginning of each year, people evaluate their lives and decide what they want in life - what they want more of and what they want to get rid of.

Some people decide they want more time with their families and less time trying to make money. Some decide to eat less and eat better. I read recently that diet programs spend more money on ads in the first two weeks of January than they do all the rest of the year combined. This is a great time for deciding about changes we want to make.

Some people determine to treat the people around them better. They decide not to drink so much. They resolve to lead simpler lives and offer help to the poor of the world. The Light of the world goes with us when we want to change. We don't have to go it alone. God offers you and me light for the darkness around us. Take hold of the light, the journey will be much better that way.

Conclusion

I have recounted this experience before, so if you've heard it, please forget you have. Several years ago, our family visited Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. We were part of a group of forty or fifty who were led down into the bowels of the cave.

When we were probably three-fourths of a mile into the cave we came to an enormous open room they called the ballroom. It was about four times the size of this sanctuary. The guides asked everyone to sit down and rest for a while. When everyone was seated, the main guide gave a signal and someone shut off all the lights. Suddenly the room became totally dark. The guide talked for a while - it seemed like forever - about how this was absolute darkness. We were so far down in the cave that no light could get in, and no matter how much our eyes tried to adapt there was no light, so we would not be able to see a thing. This was complete and utter darkness.

Then he struck a regular, kitchen match and held it over his head. That tiny flickering flame lit up that whole, enormous room. That one flame was able to brighten the entire ballroom. For me that was an example of the power of light. In a huge, dark room, even one small flame was able to eliminate the dark.

In our lives, taking hold of the Light of the World enables us to chase out the darkness that surrounds us

Amen.

©Richard J. Henderson 2005