“I Am The Light Of The World” – Jesus Revealed Part VIII

Sermon Title: “I Am the Light of the World:” Let it Shine

Good News Statement: Jesus enlightens us with life and love

Preached: Sunday, February 26, 2022 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.              

 

Scripture (NRSV): John 8:12; 9:1-12 Today’s scripture comes from the Gospel of John by which informs us that Jesus is the “Light of the World” that can remove our blindness—set us from the dark—and open our eyes to the life and love found in our heart…

 

Jesus the Light of the World

¹² Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

9 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, ⁷ saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. ⁸ The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am he.” ¹⁰ But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” ¹² They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

 

This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”

 

 

Introduction:

How many magicians does it take to change a light bulb? Depends on what you want to change it into.

How many actors does it take to change a light bulb? Only one.  They don’t like to share the spotlight.

How do bulbs travel in an airport? They travel light.

Now weren’t these jokes “en-light-ening”? Did any of them brighten up your day?

            What is light? How would you describe it? Maybe you would say light is radiant or bright. Maybe the first thing that comes to mind is the speed of light which is 186,000 miles per second. Maybe you think about how if you were able to travel at the speed of light, you could travel around the earth 7.5 times every second. Maybe you ponder how it only takes 1.26 seconds for light to get from the Earth to the Moon. Maybe you find yourself thinking about how light is both a wave and a particle, a photon. Maybe you are thinking about the light that your plants need to generate photosynthesis to grow. Or maybe, just maybe, for you light is a simple campfire around which stories are shared. Light is all these things and so much more. For Jesus, light is life and love.

When God began creating the heavens and the earth, light was the first of God’s creations. Genesis One records that light shined in the darkness even before the sun existed (Genesis 1:3). Before the mountains touched the sky, there was light. Before the earth was covered in thick vegetation, there was light. Before the birds took flight, animals roamed the earth, and fish filled the seas, there was light. Before Adam and Eve called the Garden of Eden their home, there was light. Even before the keeping of time, there was light and God said the light was good. During creation, light brought God’s works to life: it illuminated what had never been seen before. Like a flashlight, God’s light shown on what was hidden and brought life into the unseen.

Light is meant to illuminate everything, just like Jesus does with our life. Jesus says in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” The light goes ahead of us, revealing where to walk. John later states in the third and twelfth chapters of his Gospel, “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” (3:19-20) and “I Have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness” (12:46). Furthermore, the Prophet Isaiah mentioned light as being a covenant to the people of the nations, “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations…” (Isaiah 42:6). Light conquers evil, shines in darkness, and comforts the people of a nation. Light is powerful, loving, and life-giving.

When Jesus says, “I am the light of the world,” he isn’t saying that he is intellectually bright, although he is, but that he is the source of life and love that will take his people by the hand and lead them out of darkness. Jesus is willing to help guide us out of the darkness: to see again, to feel again, to hear again, and to live again. The light of Christ is good, righteous, and holy, and we have been called to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. How are you letting the light of Christ shine in your life? Jesus is the light of the world that brings us life and love.

Body:

For the past several months, Emily and I have been debating on which songs to use during the wedding ceremony. What song will the parents and grandparents walk down the aisle to, what song will be used for the wedding party, what version of You Are My Sunshine do we want the flower girls and ring bearer to walk down to, and what style of Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles does Emily want played during her grand entrance. I thought picking the colors was tough! I never thought picking the perfect songs would take several months to solidify.

Knowing that we want to keep with the “sun” theme, since the wedding is in the summer time and outside, we thought about Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the Waves, You are the Sunshine of My Life by Stevie Wonder, Trip Around the Sun by Kenny Chesney, Pocketful of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield, and Sunshine on My Shoulders by John Denver. I mentioned Ain’t No Sunshine by Bill Withers and House of the Rising Sun by The Animals…Let’s just say my suggestions got me a look and I quickly remembered, “Keep my thoughts to myself and say YES Dear.”

Thinking about why Emily and I want to keep to the “sun” theme, I find myself contemplating the words of Jesus when he said, “I am the light of the world.” Just like the sun, Jesus provides us with light in the darkness. His light provides warmth in the long, cold, and lonely winter. His light brings excitement, life, and love to one’s heart. Additionally, light offers a sense of new beginnings, of starting over, and of renewal. When the sun appears, things just feel right. When Emily walks down the aisle, I’ll be walking on sunshine because life will be more than just alright. Life will be new, just like a bright, bright sunshiny day.

The blind man from our text wasn’t quite walking on sunshine when Jesus found him, though: he probably wasn’t having a bright, bright, sunshiny day. And he probably wasn’t expecting to see new life in the darkness. The scene begins with Jesus seeing a man who had been born blind—not having the chance to see and witness the light that God called good. Already the tone of the scene is clear. Jesus could have noticed the man or even happened upon him, but the story is intentional in its language. Jesus saw the man. The light of the world sees those who cannot see. The disciples, in their typical doubtful manner, do not see the point in saving or healing this man. They ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind” (John 9:2). The disciples assume that this man’s blindness is a punishment as the result of sin; and therefore, want to keep going on about their day. Jesus, however, turns this thinking on its head. When responding to his disciples, Jesus said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him” (John 9:3). This is not so much that God caused the man to be born blind, but rather the powerful truth that not even physical blindness is a stumbling block to seeing Christ clearly. “Here comes the sun.”

Craig Koester wrote, when reflecting on this particular story, “Instead of trying to look back to determine what lay behind the blindness, Jesus looked ahead to what he might do with the blindness.” There are moments in life when our past prevents us from moving forward—when our own blindness keeps us from seeing the light of Christ, the promise of salvation, the amazing grace on the cross, and the redeeming love of eternity. We get so caught up in the past that we forget that there is a new day ready to dawn before our eyes. We get so caught up in the past that we find ourselves scared to move forward, to do something new, and to tackle a new project that seems pointless now but life-changing in the future. We get so caught up in our own created source of light that we neglect to see the light that is shining brightly in our heart before us. We allow the past to blind us so that we cannot be set free but chained only to yesterday. Christ is providing us with his light of love and life to help us look forward, to help us plan for a future, and to help us see again what Christ needs us to see. But are we willing to “lay behind the blindness” of yesterday so that we can see the light of Christ today? Are we willing to honestly answer Jesus when he asks “What do you see?” (Jeremiah 1:11, 13, 24:3; Amos 7:8, 8:2; Zechariah 4:2, 5:2) and “Can you see anything?” (Mark 8:23).

Knowing exactly what the blind man needed, Jesus healed him by spreading mud and spit on his eyes and sending him to “wash in the pool of Siloam (which means Sent)” (John 9:7). Jesus invited the man to be washed of yesterday’s darkness so that today’s light could shine brightly in his life.

The tension between light and dark, sight and blindness, plays out throughout the rest of the scene. After Jesus heals the man, his neighbors are obviously curious as to who this man is. The perplexed neighbors after seeing the once blind man asked themselves, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” (John 9:8). Some of them responded by saying, “It is he” (John 9:9). While others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him” (John 9:9). The neighbors asked the man where this miracle man might be, to which he replied, “I don’t know” (John 9:12). The once blind man knows that Jesus is the one who opened his eyes, who invited him to leave the past behind and to see the light of today and tomorrow, but he doesn’t know where he is, from where he came, or where he is going. The man is beginning to see and understand who Jesus is simply by reflecting on the miracle that just took place.

Matt Rawle uses the analogy of someone turning on the lights while you are sleeping to describe the reaction of the blind man. Rawle states, “It’s like when you’ve been sleeping all night and someone turns the lights on without warning. Sure, you can see, but you’re disoriented at first and maybe a bit confused.” The once blind man can now see, but he is still confused about what actually happened. We know what happened. The man who had been born blind is learning to see the world through Christ, allowing the light to illuminate his surroundings: to bring newness to his life, to fill his heart with love, and to realize that in moments of darkness, Jesus will forever be the light of the world that conquers all forms, depths, and shades of darkness so that we can be sent out to make other disciples. Like the blind man, we just have to be willing to allow Jesus to help us leave behind the past, live today, and plan for letting Christ’s light shine in the future. We have to be willing to say, “Here comes the sun.”

When thinking about the power of light, I am reminded of these words, and I am going to ask you to use your imagination, “A picture is never bigger than its frame. A picture is never bigger than its frame, except that good art always points beyond itself.” The light of Christ is read about throughout the Scriptures, it’s contained within the frame of the Bible; but it’s John that really lets the light shine and shows us that like good art the light of Christ shines behind its frame and lives within our heart wherever we go. The light of Christ cannot be contained. If you go back to the opening words of John’s Gospel, you realize this: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God… What comes into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it” (John 1:1, 3-5). The light of Christ is not meant to be framed, to be contained, to be labeled as limitless, to be overtaken by what is behind us, or to remain hidden under a bushel. The light of Christ existed in the beginning, shines today, and rises tomorrow. But how are you allowing the light of Christ to shine in your life? How is the light of Christ shining in our church? How can we keep the light of Christ burning in our heart? Are there light bulbs that need to be replaced? Are there areas of darkness in your life that could an extra source of light?

When you surround yourself with the light of Christ, your net becomes overflowing with fish, your baskets are filled, your eyesight becomes clearer, and you allow God to say, “Let there be light.” The Gospel of John begins and ends with light, but the story isn’t yet finished. The light of the Gospel is so abundant it spills beyond the frame of Scriptures and calls us to seek a new life in Christ: a life where we build our church, strengthen our faith, and are willing to be sent out into the world proclaiming and demonstrating how important Christ is to us. We have been called to let the light of Christ shine wherever we go even in our darkest moments and in the abyss and void of the night.

Conclusion:

Darkness is not how the story ends. At the end of God’s story we read, “Then I saw a new heaven and new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more….I didn’t see a temple in the city, because its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. The city doesn’t need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it” (Revelation 21:1, 22-24). God’s story begins with light, a light that was spoken into existence and needed to be separated from the surrounding darkness. At the end of the story there is only light, radiating from the Divine. Neither darkness, pain, nor chaos can conquer the light by which Jesus gives us in our heart. And this light outshines the blindness of our life and helps us see what Christ needs us to see.

Just like the blind man, we need Jesus to help us set us free from our past, instruct us today so that we let his light shine tomorrow and every day in our heart and in our church. How are you going to let his light shine? How are you going to live into the love of Christ’s radiating light? How can our church be a light for those here and for those yet to come? We cannot put the light of the world in a frame: it needs to shine so that others may see. In the words of Dolly Parton, “I can see the light of clear blue morning. I can see the light of a brand new day.” Jesus is the light of the world that needs to shine in what we say, what we do, and what we think every day. The light of Christ is limitless, frameless, and helps us leave the past behind; so let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

 

Closing Prayer:

            Let Us Pray…Dear Jesus, thank you for shining brightly in our life, for guiding us away from darkness, and helping us to see clearly. O Lord, continue to open our eyes so that we may see where you light needs to shine; and grant us the wisdom to find ways to step into this light and keep the light of Christ shining brightly within our heart and within our church for years to come. Amen.

 

Benediction:

Whisper to yourself, “I have the light. I have the light. I am going to let it shine. Jesus is the light of the world yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and he has given you the light of life and love to shine brightly so that you may begin to see what he needs you to see. May this light bless your life and bless our church in ways that leave the past behind and focus on tomorrow. Go, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as you let the light of Christ shine in your heart. And all God’s people said, “Amen.” Amen. Amen.