The Light Revealed

Hear these words from Psalm 19:1-6

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. 3 They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. 4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 5It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.

Please pray with me…

The sun, when we are able to see it, is the brightest light that we find in the sky. It is 93 million miles away and yet its brightness exceeds anything that we can create or form here on earth. We were reminded during the eclipse just this year of something that many of us, if not all of us were told when we looked up in the sky as kids, don’t look directly at the sun.

The sun is a small part of the creation given to us by God but without it we would be unable to live upon our planet. It is positioned just far enough away not to burn us to a crisp but yet close enough to allow us to not only survive but thrive.

(Transition)

Easter is positioned in the church calendar at a time at least in the Ohio that we desire more than most times to receive the light and the warmth from the sun. We have survived what is often a cold and gloomy winter and we are ready to see the sun.

The Jewish people had been living in darkness. They had been captives by the Roman Empire. They had turned to an extremely law-based society in which guilt and shame ruled as they were awaiting the light of their Messiah. A Messiah that would conquer the Romans and free them from oppression.

It was in this darkness that Jesus appeared. He appeared not as a conquering hero but as a common man raised by common parents. A life of hard work and what seems to be a peaceful presence to those around him.

This was not the Messiah the Jewish people were expecting. It was impossible for many of them to be able to understand how this Rabbi spoke with authority and had the power to heal those around him.

The light was before them, but they were unable to recognize him. Their minds were clouded by doubts. They were stuck in the darkness of the law and unable to find the light that God had placed in their midst.

Today we find the light revealed for all to see. We have an event that the Jewish religious authorities struggled to explain away. This man was in a tomb guarded by soldiers but yet he was no longer there.

(Transition)

We have women arriving at the tomb as the sun has begun to arise. They are heading to do what was not supposed to be done. A person who was hung upon a cross was not supposed to receive the same rites that others would receive upon their death.

The women didn’t care. They were going to serve Jesus one last time. They were going to express to him their love for him the only way that was left available for them. They were going to make sure that Jesus received a proper burial.

What we can end up forgetting is that this had been the way that the women had shown their love for Jesus many times before. The expectation would be that the women would have been the ones that would often be serving Jesus and the disciples.

(Transition)

The clearest story that we have of this expectation was what is often called the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus is at their house and Martha is attempting to show hospitality to Jesus and the disciples while her sister Mary is sitting among them.

We find Jesus offering a different expectation of women. He says that women are worthy to be a follower of him. They are worthy to sit at the feet of a Rabbi and to learn about their God and what he has done for them.

This may be why they were willing to follow him. He gave them a light that others had extinguished. He offered them hope in a future in which they could be considered important enough to be a follower of a Rabbi.

This is a reminder to each one of us that there is no one who is unworthy of being in a relationship with Jesus. There is no one who can’t ask and receive forgiveness of their sins and receive eternal life. There is no one who can’t be filled with the Holy Spirit.

(Transition)

The darkness of the death upon the cross brought us the light of the resurrection. Jesus died so that we can live. We have been set free from the power of sin. We are to be the light to the world. Jesus to those around us.

We become those that are to focus on serving Jesus. It is true that we also get to hear his words expressed in devotionals, Bible studies, preaching and song but first and foremost we get to serve our Lord.

We are here early on Easter morning to allow us to see the light revealed. Many if not all of us awoke at dusk or before. We witnessed darkness becoming light. Even if the sun doesn’t shine brightly, we get to focus on the light cutting through the darkness.

(Transition)

I remember growing up the song “This Little Light of Mine, I am going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Hide it under a bushel Oh No! I am going to let it shine.” Are you hiding your light from those around you? Are you allowing the world to see the light that Jesus has lit within you?

We are not created to just worship and learn about God. We have been created to serve God in our own unique ways. It is when we are willing to reveal our light to the world that we can truly be the person that God desires for us to be.

We are in good company if we have not yet let our light shine. We find the disciples in hiding when they receive the word that their Rabbi is no longer in the grave. They couldn’t believe it. They most likely struggled that this news would not have first been revealed to them.

After all they are thee disciples. They are the twelve that walked with Jesus’ day after day scrounging around for food at times wondering where their next meal will come from. Jesus should have revealed himself to us. That may be what they were thinking

Surely, he didn’t reveal himself first to a bunch of women. We know that he eventually will come and see them. We know that he enters into the room they are hiding and greets them and eats with them. But they are not the first.

Who was the light first revealed too? It was to the ones that were letting their light shine. It was the ones that were willing to risk ridicule that first got to see the empty tomb and were told the good news. He is risen, He is risen indeed.

We have a choice. We can remain hidden within our church building never truly letting those around us know about the love of Jesus. We can live our lives focused on our relationship with God and not caring if those around us hear about Jesus.

Or, we can be like the women at the tomb. We can be willing to step up and step out. We can decide we are not going to worry about what society has to say. We are going to show God the love that we have for him.

Let us choose to follow the example of the women at the tomb. Let us decide that we are going to share the love of Jesus to those around us. The light has been revealed. Are you willing to share it?

Let us pray…