The Light of the World

"O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of Yahweh."
- Isaiah 2.5

"The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world...to all who receive him, who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."
- John 1.9, 12

In the Psalms and Isaiah light is a symbol of God’s presence and salvation. Psalm 27.1 says, “Yahweh is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” And Isaiah 60.1-3 says, “Arise, shine, for your light has come and the glory of Yahweh has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples. But Yahweh will arise upon you and his glory will appear over you.”

Indeed, the glory of Yahweh has risen upon us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The coming of God’s saving light is realized in the Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of God. Jesus is God’s Light, shining into the thick darkness of this world, a world tainted by sin.

But in its darkened state, “the world” has not received God’s Light. In Scripture, “the world” usually refers to humanity in rebellion against God. Humanity is prone to reject God’s truth and replace it with a lie.

It’s said Christmas is a season of love, joy, and peace. And that’s true. But there’s a flip side to that coin, a darker side. The celebration of Jesus’ coming is not a pleasant reminder that the world is a nice old place. No, Christmas is a reminder that the world is a shockingly bad place, full of darkness and deception, and in need of God’s light.

As N.T. Wright says, "The world is where wickedness flourishes unchecked, where children are murdered, where civilized countries make a lot of money by selling weapons to uncivilized ones so they can blow each other apart. Christmas is God lighting a candle; and you don’t light a candle in a room that’s already full of sunlight. You light a candle in a room that’s so murky that the candle, when lit, reveals just how bad things really are. 'The light shines in the darkness,' says St. John, 'and the darkness has not overcome it.'" (For All God’s Worth, 2).

If we want to do justice to the Christmas story as we seek to apply it today, we must put a face to the “darkness” St. John speaks of. In John’s Gospel the people who remain in “darkness” are those who rejected the truth that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah, the Savior of the world, and the Son of God. And so today, those who remain in darkness, separated from God’s saving grace, are those who reject Jesus as the Messiah, the unique Son of God, and the Lord of the cosmos.

Eric Kunze, the former main man in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Jesus Christ Superstar, was quoted in the Toronto Star a few years back as saying, “Whether or not you believe he [Jesus] was the Messiah doesn’t matter. He was a man who has touched millions of people for thousands of years.” In the same article, Rick Miller, who plays the title role in his production Bigger Than Jesus, says, “Knowing what we know now, how could you possibly believe that the story of Jesus is factually true? You can believe in Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, but how can you believe that Jesus Christ is literally the Son of God, descended to earth?”

I’m sure we’ve all heard it said, “Jesus was just a good man who preached a good message about love and peace. He was nothing more than that.” But according to John’s Christmas poem, Jesus was not just a good man. He is the very Word, Light, and Son of God, come in the flesh to save fallen humanity and redeem the whole creation. Yes, Jesus came with a message of love and peace. There’s no doubting that. But his life, message, and mission involved so much more.

In the words of Blaise Pascal: “Jesus is the center of all, the object of all, whoever does not know him, knows nothing aright, either of the world or of himself.”

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…In him was life, and the life was the light of people…The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world...to all who receive him, who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."

Those who dwell in darkness may reject the truth and beauty of these words. But that doesn’t change the reality of who Jesus is, or what he came to accomplish. We don’t live in a nice world that is getting nicer. Thick darkness covers us. We’re sinful and wretched and must be reborn of God. And there’s only one hope for that rebirth: Jesus, the Word of God and Light of the world! Jesus has come to dwell among us and bring us the salvation we need. And to all who receive Jesus in faith, God gives them the right to be called his children. That’s the message of Christmas.

A Word of Hope During Advent

A word from Scripture...

"Isaiah says, 'The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.' May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the poser of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
- Romans 15.12-13

And a word from Emily Dickinson...

Hope Is the Thing With Feathers
Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.