Light Up

John 3:14-21, NRSV

14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 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. 20 For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21 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.”

INTRO

This Lent, we are invited and challenged to ask ourselves what’s up with our souls as we examine our call to get up to something good over these 40 days. In our “What R U Up 2?” Sermon series, we examine this call to be up to something good as a means of living out a holy Lent. We began by examining our call to wade into the troubled waters of life as God stirs us up so that we may Come Up better than before, empowered for the work ahead. Then, we explored our call to discipleship by examining what we are called to let go and what we are called to take on so that we can take up our cross and follow after Jesus. Last week, we examined what we are called to lay aside and what we are called to take on that we may Raise Up the body of Christ in new and different ways. This week, we continue our journey exploring ways we are called to be up to something good.

Our Gospel lesson this week has one of the most famous and most quoted verses in the Bible. John 3:16. And yet, to fully understand the verse, one must place it in context. To fully understand our lectionary passage, we must also place it in context. This answer from Jesus comes in the middle of a meeting. Just prior to our text, under the cover of darkness, Nicodemus has come to Jesus. Nicodemus is a Pharisee who has seen the signs Jesus has performed and wants to know more. Jesus instructs Nicodemus that one must be born again or born by water and the Spirit. When Nicodemus still doesn’t understand, Jesus begins to instruct him more; just as Moses lifts up the bronze serpent to heal and deliver the Israelites, so too must Jesus be lifted up as a living sign of life eternal.

Then we hear the familiar proclamation that God loved the world so much that God sent Jesus into the world that all who believe may have eternal life, the next part can get confusing. God didn’t send Jesus to condemn the world, but those who do not believe are condemned? That seems contradictory.

As we noted last week, John is not concerned with chronological ordering but with right theology. In John chapter 1, we read, “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” (John 1:3b-5, NRSV). Christ is the light of the world shining into our darkness. So many in the time of Jesus, and so many in the years after, felt the darkness of the world. The powers and principalities of their times and ours try to dampen the light. Yet the light of Christ shines into the world, exposing everyone. Those who have done good deeds are illumined, and those working against the ways of God are exposed. In Christ’s light, there is nowhere to hide.

You see, we have a darkness problem. We have a darkness problem because, at times, we love to hide in the comfort of the darkness. In the dark and secret places of our lives and our hearts, our sins are not exposed. Sure, we know that we are sinners, but we don’t have to dwell on it. We don’t have to lift it up to the light for examination or naming. It’s why weekly confession makes us uncomfortable sometimes. When we confess our sins week in and week out, it makes us stop and bring our comfortable sins into the uncomfortable place of examination in the light of Christ.

The other problem with darkness is that we fail to understand the pervasiveness of God’s light. That is, we struggle with the “For God so loved the world” part of the text. We like to dwell on the condemnation part of the text. We know that those who follow Jesus will be saved. Sometimes, we take comfort in the condemnation found within our text this morning. There are certain people we would rather not see in heaven. As one theologian reminds us, “We assume that if God loves anyone, it will be those who love God; but the text does not read, 'God so loved the church’ or ‘God so loved the faithful’ or ‘God so loved the pure.’” We believe that God’s love is confined to the church or at the very least to Christians. Yet we see Jesus bringing the church to the world. Jesus is found in the streets feeding, healing, teaching, and offering forgiveness. This is supposed to be the heart of our mission. We are called to embody the love and light of Christ in the world.

In order to take part in this mission, we must choose to “light up” with the light of Christ. This is where the condemnation comes in. The condemnation is not of God. Jesus does not condemn. In Romans 8, Paul writes, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, NRSV). In this Chapter, Paul writes about those who set their minds on the ways of the flesh versus those who set their minds on the things of the Spirit. It’s a choice. This is what Jesus is talking about in our text this morning, too. Jesus says, “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.”

You see, the judgment is not of God, but of ourselves. When we choose to reject the light, when we choose to continue in the ways of the darkness, when we act in such a way that causes someone else to stumble, we are choosing the darkness. We are condemning ourselves.

God’s love is all-inclusive. God wants all to come to salvation through Christ Jesus. The invitation to the light, the invitation to salvation in Jesus Christ, is open to all. That’s where we get the “that everyone who believes in him” part of John 3:16. God is not the one condemning. God doesn’t want anyone to be condemned. Yet God gives us the free will to choose to reject God.

Our challenge, then, is to light up for God in the world. We, as the body of Christ here on earth, are called to go out into the world to shine the light of Christ. Sometimes, this means shedding light on dark situations in the world. Other times, this means we are called to go out to people who have been told they don’t belong, or they are not worthy, or they are an abomination. We are called to go to the least and the last and the lost and say God loves you. God loves you so much that God sent God’s son into the world to live a human life, to feel human feelings, and die a human death so that we might be saved. We are not called to say “repent or you’re going to hell.” We are not called to say “if you don’t follow Jesus, God’s going to condemn you.

Then, we are to light up the world for building God’s kingdom here on earth. We are to join in God’s prophetic voice and build up a radically inclusive kingdom. We are to invite people to join us. We are to go out to where people are and have church. We are to invite them into “eternal life.”

So often, we think of Eternal life as going to heaven, something which is reserved for the afterlife. We think if you believe in Jesus and live your life in the light, then you will be saved and go to heaven. But the translation here means more than just resurrection life. Rather, eternal life is a way of knowing God through Jesus Christ. To live enterally is to live in Christ, here and now on earth, as well as in the life to come. It is to have communion with God. As one theologian puts it, we are opened up to “a rich awareness of the gospel, in which the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit become basic to who we are.” In other words, we are offered the opportunity to transform our lives so that deep down inside, the light of Christ lights us up and shines out into the world so that those who have encountered us will know they have seen the light of Christ.

We achieve this by believing in Jesus. In John’s gospel, the word believe is an action verb. Believing is something that we must do, that we must put into action. It is not attesting to something. I believe that 2+2=4. I can attest to that. That’s where the mathematical equation ends. I don’t live my life such that 2+2=4. However, believing in Jesus requires us to live our lives, putting our faith in action as we lean into what God calls us to do. You see, for John, the opposite of belief is not unbelief but disobedience. If we truly believe, we will live our lives in obedience to Jesus Christ, our Lord.

John Wesley believes that obedience to Christ is displayed in the fruit of our lives. If we follow after Jesus, we will participate in the means of Grace. We will take communion, participate in works of mercy and piety, pray and read scripture, and go and serve the least, the last, and the lost in the world. We will make a difference as we shine the light of Christ into the world.

In this Lenten journey, we have been coming to the table every week. This hasn’t just been because we think it will make us more penitential or confessional. Rather, we believe that each and every time we come to this table, we dine with Jesus Christ. Christ shows up and nourishes us for the work of believing. When we eat the bread and drink the juice we are nourished and strengthened for the work of putting our faith into action in the world. We are able to light up at the table so that we can go into the world and shine Christ’s light in the darkest corners of our hearts and our communities.

Friends, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” This morning, as we choose how to respond to this love, may we continue to embrace the Light of the World. May we be strengthened at the table for living out our belief in the world. May we choose to let the Light expose the dark corners of our hearts that we may turn from darkness of sin and live more and more into who God is calling us to be. People of love, hope, and joy, people who love unconditionally, people who welcome all and aren't afraid of differences.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.