Advent 3 - Testifying to the Light

John 1:6–8 NRSV

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.

Singing - This Little Light of Mine

Sing this old spiritual with me…

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let is shine, let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, no…

Won’t let anyone blow it out…

Shine around the neighborhood…

Hand motions. To help us remember…

Ok, I want everyone to remember — this, your finger — is the light. As we hear about John the Baptist again today, we have to think about what the light is that we are meant to share, to testify with, as we walk in the world. Hold up your light again — what is the light that you have to share and what is your light pointing to?

John 1:19–28 NRSV

19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ ” as the prophet Isaiah said. 24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

Swiss Reformed theologian, Karl Barth, says this about John:

“John the Baptist is no independent figure. He belongs entirely to Christ … he is only there to collect and give back the light that falls upon him from the figure of the one and only Christ. Thus standing there, being totally dependent, being totally man and sinner, totally serving.”

He is there to collect and give back the light. He is dependent on Christ.

So as John is dependent, we see how we are also dependent on Christ. We shine back what Christ shines forth in us. I find another analogy helpful as we unpack what this all means: the moon. The moon has no light of its own, but rather shines back the reflection of the Sun’s rays to illuminate the night. The moon is dependent upon the Sun to light the darkness. It is not to say that the moon has no value or purpose in and of itself, we know it is an incredibly important celestial body that impacts the Earth, shifting tides and seasons with it’s orbital relationship. But the moon, and the Earth and all the planets and celestial bodies of our solar system are dependent on the Sun. They are guided by the Sun. And so all that they do is referential, dependent, testifying to something greater than themselves.

How much more so are we, those who bear the image of our Creator, to be referential and dependent on the Creator, the Source of the Light? It is foolish to think we stand on our own. All that we are is dependent on the goodness of our Creator. Our light is dependent, connected to the Creator. We, our spirits and bodies, are respondents to the Creator’s blessing of light.

And as we are dependent on the Light, so we then mirror out the Light and let it become our witness in the world. We Let it Shine!

Friends, this season of Advent is filled with these rich metaphors and analogies. The Light. The Dark. A journey, an archetypal marginalized family, a birth out of mysterious and mystical circumstances. And these images, they help us to gain a broader perspective for what it means to see the light here and now and tell about it, testify to it.

There is a light in you — from your Creator. Let it shine. Point to the Christ. Shine as Christ shines.

I wonder, today, if you have a sense for what it would mean for you to shine.

Take your little light again, and hold it up. If we are to be light, if we are to shine, what would your light look like?

As a family, every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we watch through the 8 Harry Potter movies. We finished up a couple nights ago. And one of the most beautiful, powerful things those movies show is how magic, another way of perhaps thinking about Light, comes out of us as we begin to learn about ourselves and our gifts. Out of Harry Potter’s wand extends the light of a patronus, a spiritual being that protects him and his friends. What a beautiful image of using the light for righteousness and hope.

So hold up your light and wonder — what is the light I can share? What is the light I testify to?

I’m talking about how we share the light the Creator has given us.

This is what John the Baptist is doing — he’s saying there is a Light that he is directing everyone’s attention to. That light is the light of Jesus, the Messiah, who has come to bring healing and the Kingdom of God to us.

Hear this again: John, and us, points to the light. We point the light within us outward to share hope, liberty, healing, good news with a hurting, broken world. We shine the light of Jesus to light up the darkness.

The reading from Isaiah is helpful for us as we consider what it means to shine this light. Let’s walk through the prophets words as we turn and move towards our work of being lights in the world. What does it mean to testify to the light, here and now?

Isaiah proclaims, as the Spirit of God falls upon him, anointing him to be a bringer of light.

Being the light first looks like Good news to the oppressed.

Good news to the oppressed

What is good news to the oppressed? Shelter, relenting of oppression, the end of suffering, hope.

Bind up the brokenhearted

What does it mean to bind up the broken hearted? Bring physical and spiritual support. Seek wholeness and healing. To help the hurting. To hold fast and properly care for a wound or broken part in us.

How about liberty to the captives? Freedom. A chance at resurrection. An open door. Hope beyond being a hostage or trapped in a life we do not want.

Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and day of vengeance for our God

We testify that the Good Creator, the Good God of the Universe, has favor upon us and has given us the light. We testify in righteous anger and strength against all who would seek to blow out or extinguish that light.

To comfort all who mourn.

And finally, to shine the light is to comfort. There will be loss, we will experience it. Death comes. And so to be the light is to comfort those who mourn, to sit with and walk alongside all who need solace and patient presence. Comfort, comfort, my people, says the Lord — this is what it means to be the light!

The closing section of Isaiah’s reading is about joy.

Testify to Joy

Isaiah 61:10–11 NRSV

10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

Righteousness and praise spring up before all the nations.

When God’s people testify to the light, healing and righteousness rise up. Nations are healed. Families are comforted. Relationships find peace. The order of the cosmos, in its dependent orbit, leans upon itself and trusts the flow of the Spirit which binds it all together. Chaos dissipates. Shalom, God’s enduring peace, reigns.

So, how will you be a light? How will you share your light? How will your light bring healing, peace, and deep joy?

Maybe you don’t feel all that “lit up” and that’s ok. Maybe your light has grown dim with pain and sin and hurt and fatigue. Know this — it is still there and can be kindled once more. And also know this - we will be a light to you, hold you, shine back to you what goodness and beauty that God sees in you. We will testify, shine, illuminate around you so that you might feel it, see it, know it for yourself.

We will let it shine.

Want to sing once more?