Living the light
Second Sunday of Christmas
John 1.1-18
Some thousands of people in different parts of the UK spent Christmas without any power. No doubt many parties and other plans were spoilt as terrible weather took down the power lines. All of us fortunate enough to have had power must surely have given a thought at some point while we were enjoying ourselves to those who plans had turned into chaos. People flooded out were, of course, in an even worse state. What a way to spend Christmas.
Some years back the village I then lived in had its power cut by the weather over Christmas. There was nothing to be done, we simply had to wait it out. Neighbours checked on one another. Those who could moved their celebration to family or friends in other places. There was no way to finish what had been planned before the cut. When the lights go out in the depth of winter, darkness has a way of incapacitating us. Literally unable to see what
we’re doing all the usual things have to stop. At first it can seem charming and romantic, but as the freezer defrosts, the house heating chills, and the limits of cooking with a camping stove become plain, then things get uncomfortably and tiresome. Waiting for the lights to come back on is burdensome but there isn’t any alternative – for most of us, at least.
In Scripture one of the first acts of God is to create light and separate it from darkness. Our forebears experienced light as fundamental to life, and they weren’t wrong in that. So the biblical first day of creation is the day of light. We are told that light is separated from darkness. These things are opposites and they are not to be confused. The life-giving light is defined as good, and it’s even more than that because without it life on this planet could not exist. Light is a fundamental for existence and for survival. Here is an ancient wisdom confirmed by our science. The death of sunlight would be the death of what we know as
life.
So when Saint John writes of Christ amongst us as ‘the light of all people’ we immediately understand the profundity of what he is conveying. Christ incarnate is as life-giving light. And the First Letter of John read on his fast day just after Christmas Day, takes up the theme: ‘God is light and in him is no darkness at all’ (1 John 1.5). The writings of John again
and again refer to light as good, life-giving, guiding, revealing and truthful – qualities that are self-evident to us in the natural order and speak to our hearts and minds of the character and presence of Christ. This is holiness bright amongst us; the exact opposite of what we debase by human sinfulness. So in John’s account of the world the darkness is the enemy of God – it is deceitful, chaotic, sinful, evil, life-destroying. ‘The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’ (John 1.5). And when he writes ‘did not’ in terms of the physical reality of Christ with his people, he also means ‘will not’ in terms of whatever the future holds.
For John the contrast of light and dark is stark. He never ameliorates or qualifies the terms. In church tradition John is thought to have lived to a great age and to have experienced personally those who abused and twisted Christian understandings for their own ends. They seemed sincere and to almost tell the truth, but to John they were ‘false teachers’ who told lies about God and about Jesus Christ. Some of them said that they were so pure and
holy that even if they did sin it didn’t really count for anything. Others said that Jesus was not fully human, and that his death on the cross wasn’t in any way a sacrifice for sin. These are deceits says John: ‘the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth’ (John 1.14). The incarnation of Christ has consequences that cannot be avoided. Jesus the light exposes the darkness so that we receive grace upon grace and are not led astray. The ultimate test is the active faith of loving one another – all else is avoidance and deceit. Be plain with what can be seen.
In Henrik Ibsen’s famous play ‘Ghosts,’Pastor Manders and Mrs Alving reminisce about the deceased Mr Alving. The pastor speaks highly of the woman’s husband who had been regarded as a respectable pillar of the local community. Suddenly Mrs Alving opens up to the cleric and tells the truth about her husband; things she had kept to herself for many years. Mr Alving is revealed as a drunkard and a womaniser. Far from being a happy marriage, their
relationship had been a disturbing one from the very beginning. She had endured misery in a hellish home for years. And why? Simply for the sake of appearances – the couples social status and place in the local community was more important than the truth.
John the Gospel writer will have none of that fakery. For him the incarnation of Christ enlivens our very substance as people and there can be no shame truth. Christ our light must be Christ our guide. If we are like Mrs Alving, hiding the truth, then we miss out on fellowship with one another and with God. Living in the light can never be avoidance. Christ with us changes things for ever.
Christ our light shines in the darkness. Christ our light is always more powerful than the darkness.
I don’t know where this story came from but it stays with me. After the end of the Second World War a lighthouse keeper off the coast of Scotland spied in the distance a huge unexploded mine drifting towards his little island. Each wave was bringing the dreaded
thing nearer. There was nothing that could prevent its advance; all that could be done was to reinforce the lighting rig as best as possible. The explosion when it came was enormous and was heard miles away on the shore. Some of the intrepid locals decided to sail out to discover what had happened. They found a huge hole in the island rocks and the lighthouse, and a seriously injured lighthouse keeper. But the light itself was still signing out its warning and safely guiding ships to the shore.
Jesus Christ is our light. This is John’s conviction as he tells us of the Word made flesh. In the storms of life, as in the joys of life, Christ shines out. The powers of darkness no matter how threatening can never destroy the light. Let the true light, ‘which enlightens everyone’ be our guide in all things. Let the light shine.
Some years back the village I then lived in had its power cut by the weather over Christmas. There was nothing to be done, we simply had to wait it out. Neighbours checked on one another. Those who could moved their celebration to family or friends in other places. There was no way to finish what had been planned before the cut. When the lights go out in the depth of winter, darkness has a way of incapacitating us. Literally unable to see what
we’re doing all the usual things have to stop. At first it can seem charming and romantic, but as the freezer defrosts, the house heating chills, and the limits of cooking with a camping stove become plain, then things get uncomfortably and tiresome. Waiting for the lights to come back on is burdensome but there isn’t any alternative – for most of us, at least.
In Scripture one of the first acts of God is to create light and separate it from darkness. Our forebears experienced light as fundamental to life, and they weren’t wrong in that. So the biblical first day of creation is the day of light. We are told that light is separated from darkness. These things are opposites and they are not to be confused. The life-giving light is defined as good, and it’s even more than that because without it life on this planet could not exist. Light is a fundamental for existence and for survival. Here is an ancient wisdom confirmed by our science. The death of sunlight would be the death of what we know as
life.
So when Saint John writes of Christ amongst us as ‘the light of all people’ we immediately understand the profundity of what he is conveying. Christ incarnate is as life-giving light. And the First Letter of John read on his fast day just after Christmas Day, takes up the theme: ‘God is light and in him is no darkness at all’ (1 John 1.5). The writings of John again
and again refer to light as good, life-giving, guiding, revealing and truthful – qualities that are self-evident to us in the natural order and speak to our hearts and minds of the character and presence of Christ. This is holiness bright amongst us; the exact opposite of what we debase by human sinfulness. So in John’s account of the world the darkness is the enemy of God – it is deceitful, chaotic, sinful, evil, life-destroying. ‘The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’ (John 1.5). And when he writes ‘did not’ in terms of the physical reality of Christ with his people, he also means ‘will not’ in terms of whatever the future holds.
For John the contrast of light and dark is stark. He never ameliorates or qualifies the terms. In church tradition John is thought to have lived to a great age and to have experienced personally those who abused and twisted Christian understandings for their own ends. They seemed sincere and to almost tell the truth, but to John they were ‘false teachers’ who told lies about God and about Jesus Christ. Some of them said that they were so pure and
holy that even if they did sin it didn’t really count for anything. Others said that Jesus was not fully human, and that his death on the cross wasn’t in any way a sacrifice for sin. These are deceits says John: ‘the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth’ (John 1.14). The incarnation of Christ has consequences that cannot be avoided. Jesus the light exposes the darkness so that we receive grace upon grace and are not led astray. The ultimate test is the active faith of loving one another – all else is avoidance and deceit. Be plain with what can be seen.
In Henrik Ibsen’s famous play ‘Ghosts,’Pastor Manders and Mrs Alving reminisce about the deceased Mr Alving. The pastor speaks highly of the woman’s husband who had been regarded as a respectable pillar of the local community. Suddenly Mrs Alving opens up to the cleric and tells the truth about her husband; things she had kept to herself for many years. Mr Alving is revealed as a drunkard and a womaniser. Far from being a happy marriage, their
relationship had been a disturbing one from the very beginning. She had endured misery in a hellish home for years. And why? Simply for the sake of appearances – the couples social status and place in the local community was more important than the truth.
John the Gospel writer will have none of that fakery. For him the incarnation of Christ enlivens our very substance as people and there can be no shame truth. Christ our light must be Christ our guide. If we are like Mrs Alving, hiding the truth, then we miss out on fellowship with one another and with God. Living in the light can never be avoidance. Christ with us changes things for ever.
Christ our light shines in the darkness. Christ our light is always more powerful than the darkness.
I don’t know where this story came from but it stays with me. After the end of the Second World War a lighthouse keeper off the coast of Scotland spied in the distance a huge unexploded mine drifting towards his little island. Each wave was bringing the dreaded
thing nearer. There was nothing that could prevent its advance; all that could be done was to reinforce the lighting rig as best as possible. The explosion when it came was enormous and was heard miles away on the shore. Some of the intrepid locals decided to sail out to discover what had happened. They found a huge hole in the island rocks and the lighthouse, and a seriously injured lighthouse keeper. But the light itself was still signing out its warning and safely guiding ships to the shore.
Jesus Christ is our light. This is John’s conviction as he tells us of the Word made flesh. In the storms of life, as in the joys of life, Christ shines out. The powers of darkness no matter how threatening can never destroy the light. Let the true light, ‘which enlightens everyone’ be our guide in all things. Let the light shine.