Sermon for Wednesday of Week 4—Light in the Darkness

Psalm 107:1-16
Isaiah 60:15-22
John 8:12-20

Throughout the Gospel of John we hear the repeated theme of light and darkness. In the very first chapter, we read “What has come into being through [Christ] was life, and the life was the light of all people.” And then, our English translations say, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.” A more literal translation of this last passage says, “The light, in the darkness shines, and the darkness overcomes it not.”

I know that the difference of the translation is minor, and, for most of us, we say, “So what?”  But there is a difference. One proclaims light that shines from outside into the darkness, and, the other speaks of the darkness being everywhere, and the light shines in the midst of it.

The difference was brought home to me one night when a group of friends and I had gone backpacking. At the end of a long day of hiking, we were tired, but we were pleased with our progress. We made a fire and as the sun set, we talked, told jokes, told some stories, and relaxed before turning in for the night. At some point, I got up and walked out into the woods for a while. Clouds had moved in threatening rain, but the weather was still holding. As I walked out into the trees, away from the fire, it got darker and darker. At a bend in the path I was following the fire light disappeared completely. It was black; I could see nothing at all. The trail got steeper. I thought I’d turn around.

Climbing back up the hill, I missed the turn back to camp. My landmarks were gone, I had no idea where I was. I had not taken my flashlight with me because I did not think that I was going that far. I called out, but no one responded. In the thickness of the trees sound was muffled. I could not hear the others talking either. Should I keep trying to find my way back? Was I only going to get more confused and maybe walk away from my friends?

I sat down to think for a minute. I couldn’t be that far away, but how was I going to find my friends and camp? Finally I thought to climb a nearby tree. As I climbed, I heard something moving above. I froze for a moment. “What might be living in the tree?” I thought. I was afraid to move, but the scolding of a squirrel told me it was going to be okay. I climbed a little higher and there it was. The fire was shining off to my left. I climbed back down the tree and found my way back. In the midst of the darkness the light shined out.

As I walked back into camp I was particularly happy to notice how the darkness was still all around us, but the light from our fire had pushed the boundaries of the darkness back for awhile. Yet, when our wood was consumed, the darkness would enclose us all.

Tonight we are told that Jesus is the light of the world. It is not a light in the darkness that will burn out. Even when the light is seemingly extinguished on the cross, we find that the light is kindled anew on Easter morning and that the light of life is promised to all of us in the darkness of death. The light shines out for us to see, and the darkness overcomes it not.

But death is not the only part of the darkness. We live in the darkness of fear, the darkness of war, the darkness of polarized politics, the darkness of poverty, the darkness of oppression. These darknesses continue to surround us, yet if we do not lose our way in the darkness, with Christ’s unquenchable light, we can push the boundaries of those darknesses back.

If we do get lost in the darkness, we can still climb the tree of the cross and find the light of Christ again shining out of the darkness, guiding us home—home to that place where Isaiah tells us that, instead of ordinary things, we will be given extraordinary gifts. We will be given more than we ask for and greater quality than we desire.

Indeed, the City of Peace, Jerusalem, will be the city of peace, and the righteousness of God will surround us. The Lord will be our everlasting light and God will be our glory.

In Baptism we received Christ’s light and may have heard these words. “Let your light so shine before others that they might see your good works [in Christ Jesus].” Let us go to shine in the darkness.