"A Season of Light!"

A sermon preached at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on the Second Sunday of Advent, December 10, 2006 by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. Sermon is based on John 8:12-30.

Light plays a major role in our celebration of Advent and Christmas. There is the light from candles being lit; to those lights which decorate our Christmas trees and houses. All around us we see light – even in the midst of darkness. Nothing brings joy to Miriam’s face quite like riding through neighborhoods and seeing the houses decorated with lights. In fact, when we come upon a house that is decorated she announces; "Lights, mommy! Lights, daddy!" And to Miriam, she doesn’t understand why everyone doesn’t decorate their homes at Christmas! She will ask; "Where’d the lights go?" When we come to a house that isn’t decorated. Light is essential! Some of you can remember the days before having the commodity of electricity in your home. When all you had were candles to illuminate the darkness.
I read once that part of the experience of touring the Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico is experiencing the darkness. The tour guide will take you to the bottom of these magnificent caves and turn off all the lights to show you what it feels like to be in utter darkness! One person said of the experience; "Once the lights are turned off, it doesn’t take long before you can literally feel the darkness, you start getting anxious and afraid, and you long for the light!"
This is, in a sense, what the people of Israel felt. The nation was occupied by a foreign power, and thus the Jews’ aspirations, dreams, and hopes were blunted by reality and blighted by circumstance. They had "walked in darkness," they had "dwelled in a land of deep darkness." And they were longing for the light of God’s presence to come and illuminate them. They longed for the birth of the one who would restore their rejoicing and revive their joy, the Prophet who would renew their glory, release them from bondage, and reestablish their independence.
The setting of our Gospel Lesson is key in understanding the significance of Jesus’ proclamation of "I am the Light of the world." Keep in mind, on the evening of the first night of the Feast of Tabernacles, there was a ceremony called the Illumination of the Temple, which involved the ritual lighting of four golden candelabras in the Court of Women. For additional reflection, each person lit four candlesticks and set them in a floating bowl, producing such a spectacle of illumination that it is said that all of Jerusalem reflected the light. All night long the city glowed from the lights of the Temple. In celebration and anticipation, the greatest, wisest and holiest of Israel’s men danced before the Lord and sang psalms of joy and praise while the people watched and waited.
They watched and waited, hoped and prayed, because this festival reminded the citizens of Israel that God has promised long ago that a child would be born who would be the Anointed One who would redeem his people. And it was against this backdrop that Jesus defined who he was: "I am..." those magnificent words first spoken by God to Moses in the Burning Bush – "I am the light of the world!" What a magnificent setting for a declaration that God’s new age had dawned in the birth, person and work of the humble Nazarene. Picture it, the darkness of the countryside surrounding the brilliance of the light coming from the Temple area and then, the proclamation: "I am the light of the world."
You know, light enables one to see. Light illumines. "To shed light on the matter," means to reveal, or to disclose truth. Jesus is the Light of the world in that he enables us to see the truth about ourselves and the truth about God. He illumines our understanding both of ourselves and of God. In Jesus, who is the Light of the world, we see ourselves as God sees us, and we see God as he desires us to see him.
The poem, "Heavenly Light" reflects Christ’s nature as being light. It reads:

"Christ, who is light, shines forth as sunshine, allowing people to grow.
A miracle is performed of making a tare into a beautiful rose.
Thy spirit is content, at peace and free.
The joy of the Lord is surely upon me.
Through thy light thou has shown me the way.
I thank thee, O Lord, each and every day."

Light is the life-giving force of the universe – it is essential for survival. In fact, God’s first creative work was establishing light – "Let there be light!" In the first chapter of John’s gospel we have the spiritual creation and through an in depth study of these two creation accounts – the one in Genesis and the one in John, we see that they parallel one another. We see that light plays a major factor in both! Genesis chapter 1 speaks of the physical light, whereas John chapter 1 speaks of the spiritual light. In Genesis 1 God sends the light to dispel darkness. In John 1 God sends the Light – himself incarnate to dispel spiritual darkness. Through sending the light in Genesis 1 physical life is possible. Through sending the Light in John 1 spiritual life is possible. What a revelation!
I remember having to write a paper in Child Psychology some time ago to explain a child’s phobia or fear of the darkness through the theoretical perspectives of psychology. And I couldn’t help but think that there are many factors to consider in one’s fear of the darkness, as well as one’s fear of the light – especially the Light of Christ.
During the devastation of a tornado or hurricane that strikes during the night hours, it isn’t until the light of the day that one can see the damage. So, in through the light of Christ, we see our sinfulness and in receiving the light we experience transformation. Of course, we can choose to retreat to the darkness – we can choose to ignore our sinfulness and frailty and remain in the darkness. In fact, one quest of psychology is self-understanding. Light makes is possible, while darkness conceals the truth. Darkness concerns deception, while light concerns honesty. A great philosopher once said; "Walking in the light adds the perception that results in being honest and truthful with oneself." In the Light of Christ we see who we are!
Someone once defined darkness as the absent of light. And I might add, it becomes absent only through choice. We can choose to turn out the lights, pull the covers over our head, close our eyes; but the light still shines – "the sun never stops shining," as a poet once wrote. Darkness is a result of what we do to prevent ourselves from being exposed to the light.
Edith Wharton once wrote; "There are two ways of spreading light – to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." And in essence, that is our calling, we are called to be the mirror which reflects Christ, who is the Candle!
Another philosopher wrote; "If I take a lamp and shine it toward the wall, a bright spot will appear on the wall. The lamp is our search for truth… for understanding." And, you know, friends, too often we assume that the light on the wall is God, but the light on the wall is not the goal of the search, it is the result of the search. As Joseph Ratzinger said; "Christ is not the Enlightened One, but is himself the Light. By receiving the Light we become the enlightened ones," we become the "light on the wall." What a powerful reminder of who we are and who God is! And certainly, it is during the season of Advent - a season infused with light, that we focus on the Light of the world and our calling to reflect Christ’s light.
And so, as we celebrate the Light coming into the darkness of the world, we rejoice that we, who once walked in darkness, have seen and experience the Light! But our Advent celebration isn’t just a celebration of the past, it is also a celebration of the present and the future. Through Advent, we realize our responsibility to allow Christ’s light to permeate and enlighten us now - in the present, that we might become a reflector, until that day, which is to come, in the future when there will be no need of the sun or the moon, for Christ will be the Light!
So may we pray: "O come, O come, Light of the World, which enlightens us, and fill our world with the light of your presence and the truth of your word! But until thy kingdom comes and thy will is fully done on earth as it is in heaven, allow me to reflect thy light and truth." Just as John the Baptist was called to prepare the way of the Lord, so we are also called, as John, to prepare the way of the Lord who is coming again, Amen!