SPEAKER_00: There's a line in the gospel today that is as honest as it gets.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness.
SPEAKER_00: That's not about bad people.
SPEAKER_00: We're talking about you and me, all of us.
SPEAKER_00: Because we are all like the idea of light.
SPEAKER_00: We love the idea of light.
SPEAKER_00: We just don't always like what it reveals.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because light exposes things.
SPEAKER_00: It shows what is really there.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it's easier to stay in the dark.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if we go to the first reading, the apostles are arrested, thrown into prison.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Well, not because they did something wrong, but because they were living in the light.
SPEAKER_00: They were speaking the truth.
SPEAKER_00: They were witnessing to the resurrection.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the moment.
SPEAKER_00: In the middle of the night, God sets them free.
SPEAKER_00: The doors open.
SPEAKER_00: They walk right out.
SPEAKER_00: If that were us, what would we do?
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Lord.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going home, right?
SPEAKER_00: That's maybe what I would say.
SPEAKER_00: Or I'm going to stay quiet for a while.
SPEAKER_00: Let me lay low.
SPEAKER_00: I got the message.
SPEAKER_00: But the angel says something very specific.
SPEAKER_00: Go.
SPEAKER_00: Go and tell the people everything about this life.
SPEAKER_00: Everything.
SPEAKER_00: Not part of it.
SPEAKER_00: Not the safe version.
SPEAKER_00: Everything.
SPEAKER_00: And what do they do?
SPEAKER_00: They go right back to the temple.
SPEAKER_00: The same place they were arrested.
SPEAKER_00: The same place it could happen all over again.
SPEAKER_00: That's the difference.
SPEAKER_00: Do you see it?
SPEAKER_00: When you encounter the risen Christ, you don't just change your life, you change your priorities.
SPEAKER_00: This is where the gospel hits.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, People prefer darkness to light.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Well because light asks something of you.
SPEAKER_00: Darkness lets you stay hidden.
SPEAKER_00: Light calls you forward.
SPEAKER_00: Darkness lets you stay comfortable.
SPEAKER_00: Light calls you to change.
SPEAKER_00: That's the tension that we live in.
SPEAKER_00: Because part of us wants the light, and part of us wants to stay where no one sees too much.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the truth, you can't live both.
SPEAKER_00: At some point you have to choose.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because it gets exhausting.
SPEAKER_00: The apostles chose and it cost them everything.
SPEAKER_00: They were arrested, threatened, pressured, but they didn't go back.
SPEAKER_00: So let me bring this to you because this is where it gets real.
SPEAKER_00: When you're life, you are are you choosing comfort over truth?
SPEAKER_00: Where are you staying quiet when you should speak?
SPEAKER_00: Where are you avoiding something you know needs to change?
SPEAKER_00: Where are you living half in the light and half in the darkness?
unknown: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because the resurrection doesn't just invite you to believe, it calls you into the light.
SPEAKER_00: Come on, step into it.
SPEAKER_00: But here's the good news.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus doesn't bring you into the light to expose you.
SPEAKER_00: He brings you into the light to heal you.
SPEAKER_00: That's the difference.
SPEAKER_00: The world will expose your shame.
SPEAKER_00: God reveals in order to be able to restore.
SPEAKER_00: So don't be afraid of the light.
SPEAKER_00: Don't avoid it.
SPEAKER_00: Don't run from it.
SPEAKER_00: Because the same God who opened those prison doors is trying to open something in your life right now.
SPEAKER_00: And the question is not, is the door open?
SPEAKER_00: It is.
SPEAKER_00: The question is, will you step into the light or go back into the dark when it's convenient?
SPEAKER_00: Because once you've seen the light, you can't pretend that you haven't seen it.
SPEAKER_00: And if you choose it, if you really choose it, you won't just be free, you'll start to live differently.
SPEAKER_00: And then people will notice.
SPEAKER_00: Wow, you really love the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: You love Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And that's when you become a witness to the truth.
SPEAKER_00: Not perfect, but real.
SPEAKER_00: Giving testimony to the world of what Christ has done in your life.
SPEAKER_00: And then that's what changes the world.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.