Sunday, April 15, 2018
“I
am the light of the world,” Jesus said. The Light. No more darkness or confusion; all is
revealed. The problem is, I don’t think
a lot of people come to church looking for light, revelation, or God.
Ask
yourself why you come? In our country
and in our culture, we are free to choose whatever religion we prefer, or no
religion at all if that’s to our liking.
Why do you follow the way of Jesus?
Maybe
you don’t. Maybe you attend church every
Sunday, or many Sundays, or today at least, but the fact that you are here does
not mean you’ve given your life to God and you live in service to the Lord
Jesus. Not only does our culture provide
for freedom of religion, but our religion, Christianity, allows people to
participate in worship even if they have not committed to faith in Christ. We welcome seekers. If you are not a Christian or are not sure if
you are a Christian, we’re happy to see you.
I
know many here do claim to be Christian.
The question is why? In
Christianity, in the way of Jesus Christ, what are we looking for? Over and over, in conversations I have with
church goers, I find that Christians don’t have a Biblical view of what our
faith is about.
What I hear over and over is that people are
Christians because they hope to go to Heaven when they die. People want to know that the afterlife is
secured. And, of course! I want that too. And our faith does promise eternal life. But if we read the New Testament, we don’t
see very much about going to Heaven when we die. It’s not the primary message; not the heart
of what God promises; not the essence of what God expects of us.
Many of us come to church looking for this one
thing. The Bible promises something
else. Keep your eyes on John 8:12 as I
talk. This section of John begins in
chapter 7. The Festival of Tabernacles
was about to begin. Jesus traveled from
Galilee to Jerusalem to be there for the festival (7:10).
This celebration hearkened back to Moses leading the
Israelite slaves out of Egypt.[i] In
Jerusalem, on the opening night of the festival, in the area of the temple
called the court of women where water was drawn, there were four golden
candlesticks lit. The wicks floated in
golden bowls that sat atop pillars that were so high, the priest had to climb a
ladder to light each one. When these
wicks burned “it is said that all Jerusalem reflected the light.”
The opening night of the Festival of the
Tabernacles under the light of Jerusalem, Jesus said, “I am the light of the
world.” We hope to get to heaven when
they die, and in Christ we are promised a blessed eternity as sons and
daughters of God, but ‘going to heaven when we die’ is not a major focus of the
New Testament. Where does God wants us
to be paying the closest attention? Into what is our Lord inviting us?
Under the light of Jerusalem, Jesus said, “I am the
light of the world.” The Feast of the
Tabernacles was meant to draw the people into their story and to turn their
hearts to God. In his pronouncement,
Jesus says, “God is here among you and here for you; for your blessing and your
benefit.”
Let it sink in.
The things God did in Jesus and continues to do among us in the Holy
Spirit; it is all for our good. It might
not always be what we want. We think we
have a vision of life, of what makes us happy, but God know what gives us
joy. God knows better than we do what is
for our good. The things Jesus did and
continue, in the Spirit, to do, is for our good. The life into which Jesus calls us is the
best life we can live.
In John 6:35 Jesus said, “I am the bread of
life. Whoever comes to me will never be
hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” In 7:37 he said, “Let anyone who is thirsty
come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.” Now here in 8:12, we see
his claim. He is the light of the
world.
In the statements of Jesus in John, his identity is
revealed. We begin to see who Jesus is.
Elsewhere in John he says, “I am the way,” and, “I am the gate.”
By the light, we see. There’s no nighttime fumbling and bumping in
the house, knocking over the unseen glass of water on the bedside table,
stepping barefoot on Legos and pushpins hiding in the hallway carpet. All is seen.
All the uncertain alleyways of life are illuminated.
Taking Jesus to be the light, fixing our gaze on
him and standing in his light, we are enlightened and thus our lives are
exposed. John 8:1-11, tells of an angry
mob that drags a woman before Jesus caught in the act of adultery. That’s a sin committed unclothed. She’s cowed to the ground wearing only a
bedsheet and her shame. The crowd,
stones in hand, condemning scriptures in their mouths, demand a verdict from
Jesus. He does not deny her sin. He simply invited whomever in the mob is
without sin to cast the first stone.
In their hypocritical judgment they exposed her sin,
but He is the light. In Jesus’ wisdom,
their sins are exposed. They quietly
depart, shame, a black cloud hovering over them. Jesus did not shame anyone. He just exposed what had been hidden.
In the next chapter, John 9, the disciples want to
blame a man’s blindness on the sins of his parents. The religious leaders want to kill
Jesus. He exposes the holes in the theology
of his followers and the murderous intentions of the religious leaders in
Jerusalem. He is the light and all is
exposed in the light, including all sins – yours, mine. Light is wonderful until we realize there are
things in our lives we want to keep hidden.
We cannot come to Jesus and keep things hidden. We can hide things from friends in church,
but not from him. And we don’t truly
come to him until our lives are exposed in His light.
Jesus is the light of the world and in him we are
enlightened and exposed. What else?
We’ve heard the claims he makes, bread of life,
giver of living water. We are nourished
by his light. We have to have vitamin D
for healthy bones and for numerous other health benefits. The best source for vitamin D is sunlight
similarly, he gives what we need and it is impossible to be healthy apart from
him.
And, the light guides us to right choices. By his light we see the right pathways for
our lives, and those paths we must avoid.
In his light, we walk the pathway of forgiveness. Relationships are restored, grudges dropped,
and reconciliation possible. In his
light, greed, jealousy, rage, and selfishness are avoided. We see the way to go and the way not to go by
walking in step with Jesus.
He is the light who enlightens us, exposes all,
nourishes our spirit and mind and soul, and guides our path. As C.S. Lewis said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that
the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see
everything else.”[ii]
The overall picture the Gospel of John paints of
Jesus is of one who comes from outside of creation, from the divine realm.[iii] The messianic language in John “tells of
events that are outside the usual reach of human historical experience,” but
that are “foundational for human relationship with [God].”[iv] We cannot use empirical data to prove that
Jesus is the light of the world. All we
have is the witness of scripture, the testimony of others who know God in
Christ, and the words the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and minds. But this is enough. The Gospel of John speaks from direct
observation, the writer an eye-witness to the life of Jesus. We feel the force
of his testimony as the Spirit leads us to meet Jesus in the pages of his
gospel.
Heaven, afterlife, blessing – that all comes
later. Right now, in the moment we open
John, the light is turned on. We are knocked flat because in these pages, we
come face to face with the living God.
Thus we see the solution to the original
problem. People come to church looking
for the wrong thing – a passport to Heaven.
That’s not why we’re here. If
that’s why you’re hear, you’ll never understand what’s going in the Bible. Heaven is real. Heaven is important. It’s not the story, nor is it the goal. Heaven is an after affect. The story is the relationship we have with
God. “By doing God’s deeds and speaking
God’s words of love and life, Jesus reveals God, making it possible not only to
know about God, but to know God, and
so to have eternal life.”[v]
“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). Following Jesus - that’s the right reason to
come to church, to attend worship, and live a Christian life. Jesus has no use for admirers. He is not impressed by believers. Even the demons believe in God (James
2:19). He is looking for followers. Jesus calls us – every one of us – to be
disciples.
In John 8:32.
“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will
know the truth, and the truth will make your free.”
The disciple life is the only life worth
living. I promise. Confess your sins before God. Turn away from those sins and receive
forgiveness. Invite Jesus into your life
and fully surrender to him. Acknowledge
him as the master of your marriage and your career. Follow him in times leisure, as the Master of
what you look at on TV, on your phone, and on your computer. Fully, surrender to him the most important
things in your life.
We might have to give up, some relationships, and
dreams. We keep others, but they are changed in the light of Christ. Some things stay as they are, but we are
changed as we pursue those dreams and live in those relationships because of
who we have become in Christ. Other
things fall to second place. Following
our Lord becomes primary.
I promise.
No other life compares. I say it
that way, as a promise, because I cannot prove it. So, you need to test this yourself. Turn to Jesus. Seek Him.
And see what happens in your life when you do.
AMEN
[i]
R.Brown (1983), The Anchor Bible: The
Gospel According to John I-XII, Doubleday & Company (Garden City, NY),
p.344.
[ii]
A. McGrath (2009), A Fine-Tuned Universe:
The Quest for God in Science and Technology, Westminister John Knox Press
(Louisville), p21. I have more
frequently in McGrath’s writings and speeches (watched on Youtube) than in
actually reading Lewis.
[iii]
D. Rensberger (2001), “The Messiah who has Come into the World,” in Jesus in the Johannine Tradition, Robert
t. Fortna and Tom Thatcher, eds, Westminster John Knox Press (Louisville), p.17
[iv]
Ibid, p.19.
[v]
Ibid, p.22.
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