Christ is the Light

All of the best fantasy fiction books move from light to darkness to light again. Star Wars contrasts the light side of the force with the dark shades of the Death Star and Darth Vader. The Lord of the Rings contrasts the lightness of the world of men with the darkness of Mordor, the domain of Sauron and his legions of Orcs. In the Harry Potter series, school headmaster Albus Dumbledore speaks these words right before some very trying times: “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” ("The Prisoner of Azkaban").  Because where there is Christ, there is light, and where there is light, there is life.

Transcript

“What was made in him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:3b-5)

Christmas Day this year is also the start of Hannukah, the “festival of lights.” It’s the Jewish festival that is the closest counterpart to Christmas, and always falls sometime in December. But it seems appropriate that this year, the miracle of light comes on the day when we celebrate the birth of the light of the world!

Here’s how one Jewish website explains the festival:

“Unlike many Jewish holidays, Hanukkah (also known as the Festival of Lights) is not mentioned in the Bible. The historical events upon which the celebration is based are recorded in Maccabees I and II, two books contained within a later collection of writings known as the Apocrypha. In 168 B.C., the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes sent his soldiers to Jerusalem. The Syrians desecrated the Temple, the holiest place for Jews at that time. Antiochus also abolished Judaism, outlawing the observance of Sabbath and the festivals, as well as circumcision. Altars and idols were set up for the worship of Greek gods, and he offered Jews two options: conversion or death.

On the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev in 168 B.C.E., the Temple was renamed for the Greek god Zeus. A Jewish resistance movement – led by a priestly family known as the Hasmoneans, or Maccabees – developed, resisting the cruelty of Antiochus… Though outnumbered, Judah Maccabee and his fighters miraculously won two major battles, routing the Syrians decisively…Hanukkah, which means “dedication,” is the festival that commemorates the purification and rededication of the Temple following the Greek occupation of that holy place…

According to the legend, when the Maccabees entered the Temple and began to reclaim it from the Greeks, they immediately relit the lampstand, which burned constantly in the Temple.  In the Temple, they found a single jar of oil, which was sufficient for only one day. The messenger who was sent to secure additional oil took eight days to complete his mission, and miraculously, the single jar of oil continued to burn until his return. The rabbis of the Talmud attributed the eight days of Hanukkah to the miracle of this single jar of oil.”
(https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/hanukkah/history-hanukkah-story)

Many peoples around the world celebrate the light and associate nighttime with evil deeds and bad conduct. Jesus himself, when he was being arrested, wondered aloud why no one arrested him while the sun was up. “When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Luke 22:53.

John begins his Good News about Jesus by identifying the Son of God with the Word of God, the Lord’s creative and sustaining activity in the world. He then identifies the Son as the one through whom life comes into the world. Then he connects life, as opposed to death, with light, as opposed to darkness. Jesus is the Word that brings light and eternal life.

Our world can often seem like a very dark place. Literally so: there are likely bombs falling somewhere in the world on unsuspecting people, even while we sit here in light this morning. Trust comes in the light; betrayal is dark. Health comes with lightness of being; illness can drag us down into the depths. 

But John says “take heart – the light of the world has come.” The light became flesh and walked around in our dark world, absorbing our dark sin into himself so that we might become light and life. Try as it might – even through betrayal and crucifixion – the darkness could not overcome Jesus’ light and life. 

Because where there is Christ, there is light, and where there is light, there is life.

All of the best fantasy fiction books move from light to darkness to light again. Star Wars contrasts the light side of the force with the dark shades of the Death Star and Darth Vader. The Lord of the Rings contrasts the lightness of the world of men with the darkness of Mordor, the domain of Sauron and his legions of Orcs. In the Harry Potter series, school headmaster Albus Dumbledore speaks these words right before some very trying times:

“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” (Albus Dumbledore, Prisoner of Azkaban)

Because where there is Christ, there is light, and where there is light, there is life.

In the darkness of his jail cell, Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer prayed to his Lord and contemplated the darkness all around. The Nazis were running Germany and perpetrating the largest, organized, bureaucratic mass killing in human history. Many in Bonhoeffer’s former church were going along with the project, reflecting darkness rather than light. But Bonhoeffer didn’t curse the darkness he saw around him. He realized the darkness was also in his own heart. And so he wrote: 

“In me there is darkness, But with You there is light;
I am lonely, but You do not leave me;
I am feeble in heart, but with You there is help;
I am restless, but with You there is peace.
In me there is bitterness, but with You there is patience;
I do not understand Your ways,
But You know the way for me.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison)

The way was Christ. Because he was the life, and his life was his light. And ours. Amen.