Light of the World

*the following is a transcript of my message for the March 18 Lenten service being hosted by EAC. I post this for the benefit of those who cannot attend. Thanks,

Chris

Just last week I returned home from an eleven day missions trip to mountains of Guatemala. I was working with an organisation called Impact Ministries amongst the Pokamchi people group. We spent our time building schools, working with children, getting to know the people and trying our best to be Jesus with skin on to a people who are lost in great spiritual darkness.

One of the places we visited was a natural marvel of nature: A huge sinkhole in the side of a mountain outside of the village of Chicoy. This enormous cavern in the side of the hill was easily 2-3 times the size of this sanctuary and it went deep into the mountain itself were very little sunlight was able to shine through the small opening at the top, covered in brush and trees. When you got down to the bottom what you found was a place that was very, very dark – physically AND spiritually.

The Mayan people believed that this sinkhole was a place of power – that it was a point of connection to the Gods of the underworld and all around the floor of this cavern was evidence of recent sacrifices and rituals enacted to appease these false gods. At the bottom of this sinkhole the darkness was oppressive – you could see it, you could smell it and you could feel it.

Have you ever considered what a world cast in unending darkness would look like? Have you ever thought about what it would feel like to have no light? Over this Lenten season we are focusing on the “I AM” statements of Jesus from the Gospel of John – exploring what the implications of those pronouncements are for us today. Today we look at John 8 and verse 12 where Jesus makes the claim that I am the light of the world. What does it mean for Jesus to be light in a world that is turning in the shadow of darkness?

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12 (TNIV)

Well first we need to understand what darkness is – I’m a pastor, so you can deduce from that what you wish about my skills and knowledge in other fields and disciplines – but whether you believe it or not I was quite good a physics back in High School and one of the things I remember from my grade 12 physics class is that there is no such thing as darkness. Darkness has no physical or measurable existence; it is merely the absence of light. Just like cold is a word that we use to describe the absence of heat – something we Saskatchewan folks know a little bit about – to walk in darkness is to walk without God. CS Lewis in his book “the great divorce” tried his best to envision a world where the light of Christ was not present – it was his picture of hell. Too many people are living in Hell on Earth because they choose to cower from the light of Christ. Is it any wonder that Jesus calls Hell “outer darkness”? It is a description of a place where God is not.

Another example of this darkness is illustrated in the events of Good Friday. I’m convinced that God loves a good metaphor – he just seems way too fond of them in the course of the Holy Scriptures so what do you have when Jesus is on the cross? At the brightest part of the day, during the most gruelling hours of the crucifixion, when the light of the world is close to death, the sky is blackened and the lights go out. Humanity is treated to a terrifying show of what their sin has brought them. The light of the world stepped down into darkness and we saw fit to extinguish his flame.

In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:5 (TNIV)

For Jesus to be the light of the world it means that the darkness of the human condition – the human condition of sin and separation that comes to full fruition in hell – is receding. The darkness that could not overcome the light is little by little being obliterated by the radiant light of he who is the essence of light.

Secondly we need to understand the nature of this light.

"For Jesus to be the “light of the world" means the world has no other light than him. If there is going to be a light for the world, it will be Jesus. It is Jesus or darkness. There is no third alternative." (John Piper, I am the light of the world. March 13, 2011)

No other light. Any other source of light that we find in the darkness, any good work, any act of charity, any movement of compassion or expression of love and justice is at best reflecting the light of the world. Just as the moon has no light of its own but instead reflects the light of the sun any light in this world that pierces the darkness is a reflection of the light of Christ. The Apostle James reminds us of this when he says:

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:17 (TNIV)

For Jesus to be the “light of the world” means that any hope we have in escaping the darkness of the humans experience can only be found in him. He is the way, the truth and the life – no one comes to the father except through him because no one can see the father except by him. In the verses immediately following the “I AM” statement the Pharisees asked him “Where is your father?” They couldn’t see God in the darkness. And Jesus replied:

“You do not know me or my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

John 8:19 (TNIV)

It is because Jesus is the light of the world that we can know God.

Lastly we need to understand something about the world. Darkness is the world’s condition but it is not what it was made for. For Jesus to be the “light of the world” means that the world was made for this light.  As John Piper says:

 “This is the light of the creator of the world. When this light comes, it not only makes sin plain as foreign and ugly, but it also makes everything good in the world shine with its full and true beauty. This world was made to be illumined by this light. This light of Christ is native to the world.” (John Piper, I am the light of the world. March 13, 2011)

When time has reached its fullness and God’s plan of restoration and reconciliation has come to pass in the making of everything new – His light, the light of Christ, will be the only light we need. John of Patmos tells us in his Revelation that:

“There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever.”

Revelation 22:5 (TNIV)

When the light of the world shines fully on his creation – there will be no need for anything else. When the light of Christ reaches its fullness on this earth – when God’s Kingdom comes on Earth as it is in Heaven, even the sun will be obsolete. And that was what I got to experience just a little of in the bottom of that sinkhole. We stood in the centre of that place and we worshipped God. We praised the name of Jesus Christ, we proclaimed Scripture and sang songs and prayed prayers and when we opened our eyes that place of utter darkness, that had been used for abominable acts and had been used in service to evil powers and principalities for so long – was somehow brighter. The sun hadn’t moved, the sky hadn’t change, no one had lit a candle but the light of the world broke through a little bit into that stronghold of Satan and things changed.

The Good news that Jesus Christ is the light of the world is that he can do the same thing in our hearts as well. Where there is darkness, where there is sin, where there is rebellion or resistance to his grace Jesus will bring light and that light will change us. Because just like the world, we were made for the light of the world. We were made for Jesus.