He Is...We Are To Be: The Light of the World - John 8:12-20
Last week we
began our series on examining the “I Am” statements of Jesus in the Gospel of
John. We talked about how controversial
these statements would have been for the Hebrew people that would have heard
them coming from Jesus. We went back to
Exodus 3 and heard the conversation between Moses and God as God was preparing
Moses to go back into Egypt and bring the Hebrew people out of slavery:
Moses
questioned God, “If I go back to Egypt and tell the Israelites that the God of
their ancestors had sent him, they are going to want to know who this God is
and I don’t even know your name. What am
I supposed to tell them?” God replied to
Moses, “‘I Am Who I Am.’” God continued on, “‘Thus you shall say to the
Israelites, I Am has sent me to you…The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’
This is my name forever and this is my title for all generations.’”[i]
Those listening
to Jesus and hearing him say, “I am…” would have heard Jesus equating himself
with God. For those of us today, knowing
that Jesus is God the Son, and an equal member of the Trinity, that is not an
issue. For those in Jesus day, though,
it would have been heard as blasphemy.
Last week we
also pushed the envelope past Jesus statements of “I am,” saying that just as
Jesus is for the world each of these statements that he claims, as we examine
them, then Scripture also tells us that we, as the Church, are to be these very
things in the world today.
Last week,
Jesus said, “I am the Bread of Life.”
Understanding Jesus to be “the Bread of Life,” the Church, as the living
Body of Christ in the world, is to strive to be “the Bread of Life” in the
world today. Understanding that Jesus is
that which gives nourishment and sustenance to the world, we are to offer
nourishment and sustenance to the world…not just in the food we give the
hungry, but also sharing with them the message of the gospel of Jesus
Christ…introducing them to the love of God that will fill that hole that leaves
not their bodies, but their very souls hungering…God’s love being the only
thing that will forever satisfy that hunger.
This morning
we find Jesus in another encounter with those around him. He had been teaching and folks were
questioning the validity of what he was saying.
He responds with, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness but will have the light of life.”
We need to
understand what ha powerful image this is that Jesus has projected when He
says, “I am the Light of the World.”
Light has always been an important part of the Hebrew culture, and once
again takes us back to the Old Testament.
At Creation, the first thing that God does as He brings creation into
existence is to say, “Let there be light,” and light pierced the darkness of
chaos.[ii] Later on, light is seen in Exodus, first as
the light of the fire revealing God’s very presence to Moses,[iii]
but also as the pillar of fire at night revealing the path of safety as God led
them through the wilderness. Light is
also depicted as the wisdom of God, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light
to my path.”[iv]
The Gospel of
John latches onto the importance of this light image from the very
beginning. The first chapter of John
reads, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. He was in the beginning with
God. All things came into being through
him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and
the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome
it…The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.”[v]
Later on, as
Jesus is talking with Nicodemus, who had come to Him under the cover of night
says of the Son of God, “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into
the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were
evil. For all who do evil hate the light
and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the
light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”[vi]
What does it
mean, then, for Jesus to say that He is the Light of the World? We can pull it all from the passages we have
referenced.
As the Light
of the World, Jesus brings God’s creative order into the chaos of our world. How often do we feel like our lives are
spiraling out of control? Conflict,
questions, problems, disease, and death assail us, simply turning our lives
upside down. Jesus comes into that chaos and says, “Peace
I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”[vii] Jesus says, “I have said this to you, so that
in me you may have peace. In the world
you face persecution. But take courage;
I have conquered the world.”[viii] Jesus lets us know that God’s way is a way of
peace, a means of trusting in God, and knowing that He is in control…all of the
turmoil will pass away, and cannot lay claim on us.
As the Light
of the World, Jesus illuminates the path we are to travel. Many times in our lives, we have things
coming at us from all sides, competing for our attention, trying to claim our loyalty,
and tell us that they are the answer to all of life’s questions and
problems. When all of this comes at us,
beckoning us to follow, we are left in the dark, not knowing which way to go. Which way is right? Which way is God’s way? How do we know? We look to Jesus. We are called to walk, talk, and act in the
same way that Jesus did…if it is the path of Christ, it is the path God leads
us down. Jesus said, “As the Father has
sent me, so I send you.”[ix]
As the Light
of the World, Jesus shines light into the darkness of sin and brings to light
the intentions behind our actions. We
look at folks and think, well, they sure are good folks, look at all the good
things they do. Often times those folks
might be the ones staring back at us out of a mirror. Other times we look in the mirror or at those
around us and wonder, just what are they up to?
I know some of those times have happened with the kids where all of a
sudden out of the clear blue they are helpful, courteous, and
complimentary. My initial response,
“what do you want now?” We are always
questioning motives. Jesus confronted
the religious folks of his day repeatedly over the issue of motives…suggesting
that their “pure” actions were not done to glorify God, live holy lives, or
help others draw closer to God, but done out of sinful self-interest to draw
attention and praise to themselves. At
other times, when folks tried to hide their sin in the darkness of silence,
Jesus drew it out…as He did with the woman at the well who said, “I have no
husband” to Jesus’ request for her to bring her husband and come to Him. Jesus confronted her with the reality that
she had had five husbands, and was now shacking up with some guy. Light reveals what we try to hide in the
darkness of our lives, Jesus makes us see our sin…and we have to choose whet
her to live in His Light, and receive life, or crawl back into the darkness and
die.
As the Light
of the World, Jesus gives life to God’s people. The demands on our lives seem to just drain
the life out of us—work demands, family demands, social demands. Broken relationships and betrayals leave us
gasping for life. We feel like we are
alone and dying. Jesus is the one who
enters into our world and gives life. We
watch as Jesus returns to life a young girl, a centurion’s servant, his friend
Lazarus, and others…calling them back from the darkness of death. Yet those who had met physical death were not
the only ones that Jesus gave life to—Jesus gave life to those who had died
socially, having been made outcasts—the lepers, the demon possessed, the
crippled…Jesus touched their lives and returned them to the community.
As the Light
of the World, Jesus draws those who love God together. We live in a world that promotes
self-sufficiency and independence. We are
encouraged to do it all on our own, and we frown upon those who seem to need
others. All of this leads to lives where
we look around and find ourselves disconnected from others and alone. Others of us find ourselves alone because
events of this world have left us alone…a loved one dies, friends move away,
families turn their backs. Jesus comes
into this darkness and shines His Light.
Just as a porch light on a dark night draws all the insects around to it
or a light hanging over the water draws the fish to it, so too does the light
of Christ draw those around to Him.
Jesus, though having moments of prayer and meditation alone to
strengthen himself from time to time, was never about living alone. He never called on folks to retreat from the
world, but instead gathered the disciples and others around Him. Jesus was about forming community. Even when He sent the disciples out to do
ministry, He did not send them alone, He sent them in groups. Jesus’s Light draws folks together.
My brothers
and sisters, as the living body of Christ, we, the church, are to do the same
thing…we are to be the Light of the World.
We are to be that which shines into the darkness of folks lives.
We are to
shine into the chaos and bring God’s creative order to those who find their
lives in turmoil. We offer a calming,
steadying, presence that focuses in on the peace that Christ will bring into
their lives.
We are to
bring light to those who paths have been darkened by confusion as they seek to
discern God’s will for their lives. We
help them through coming along side them in prayer, the study of Scriptures,
and listening for God’s direction.
We are to be
the light that helps folks fully live.
We are to help them break free of any addictions or struggles that seek
to drag them into physical or emotional death.
We are to help them grow and thrive, especially strengthening their
relationship with God and their brothers and sisters in Christ.
We are to
shine the light of God on sin and bring to light the true intentions of
others. We expose sin for what it is,
not allowing it to hide in the darkness.
We have to be careful here, because we offer this exposure not in a
condemning, judgmental way, but helping folks choose to walk in the life and
leave that darkness behind…remembering that God sent His Son, and thereby sends
us, into the world, not to condemn the world, but in order that those in the
world might be saved.
We offer the
Light to draw others together. We are to
be a place where the Love of God is experienced in such a way that we find
ourselves bound to one another through Christ…no longer living alone, no longer
living for ourselves, but living with and for one another.
My brothers
and sisters, the Light of the World has come into the World…let Him light our lives,
so that we may shine it forth into our community and throughout the world.
In the Name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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