I am the light of the world

I am the light of the World Genesis 1: 1-5, John 8: 2-20 The Bible contains many references to light and darkness. Right at the beginning of scripture in Genesis 1 verses 2 to 4, for example, we're told, as we read, that when God created the heavens and the earth, "the earth was formless and empty; darkness was over the surface of the deep..." the passage going on to say, "And God said, 'let there be light'; and there was light". And also, "And God saw that the light was good..." Darkness was replaced by light ... and so a pattern was set, right from the beginning of creation, where darkness and light were in opposition to one another. Not only that but each became symbolic of other things: darkness for instance became associated with ignorance, confusion, fear, with condemnation, secret activities, the ways of Satan. So that, for instance, we read in Exodus chapter 10 that God's penultimate plague sent on the hard hearted Egyptians was a plague of darkness which instilled fear into them. Whilst Proverbs chapter 4 verse 19 states that: "the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble." And again, when talking about those whose eyes are turned from God during his 'Sermon on the Mount', Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6 verse 23 that for such people their "whole body will be full of darkness". Light on the other hand was associated with revelation, with order, with truth, illumination, salvation, with the ways of God. So that we find the psalmist in Psalm 27 verse 1 declaring that: "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?" and Isaiah saying to the house of Jacob in Isaiah chapter 2 verse 5: "Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord." And it's perfectly understandable that people in Biblical times should have so readily viewed light and darkness in these terms. Because, much more than is the case for our-selves today, their lives were regulated by light and darkness. When it became dark then their day was ended, and they retreated indoors to escape the unknown; and slept, until the dawn, when they'd wake and get up, taking full advantage of the daylight. Today with our simple to switch on electric lighting we're able to create the impression of daylight throughout even the darkest night and so daylight and night are not in so obvious opposition. And yet even today we find many children fearful of the dark night and many adults who're still made uncomfortable by the absence of light. And of course we also find people suffering depression during the long dark winter months, from the condition known as S.A.D. or Seasonal Affective Disorder. And who doesn't feel an extra skip in their step, with the onset of the lighter days of spring? In biblical times, then, darkness and light were seen as opposing forces. And yet not as equally opposing forces, for the God of light has always had power over the darkness, indeed he's the creator of darkness as we read in Isaiah chapter 45 verse 7 where, addressing the Persian King Cyrus, the Lord says: "I form light and create darkness". So that, as a consequence, darkness isn't something that is out with God's control, and we see His power over darkness in the way, for instance, he used it to prevent the Egyptians from getting near his people as they waited at the edge of the Red sea, or the way he used it as a cloak to cover his glory with when making his covenant with Abraham, or when speaking with Moses. The light therefore ultimately is more powerful than the dark, a fact attested to by John in Chapter 1 verse 5 of his gospel when he writes that: "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it", referring of course to Christ Jesus the son of God who has come into the world. And so we come to our passage which we read from John's Gospel Chapter 8 in which Jesus says that: "I am the light of the world". As once more he tells us about his nature which we began to think about last week with Jesus' statement: "I am the bread of life". This latest declaration of the Lord is significantly placed coming as it does during the Jewish feast of Tabernacles, which, chapter 7 verse 10 of John tells us, Jesus had secretly gone up to Jerusalem to attend. It was a feast that was one of the three great annual festivals of the Jews and, as well as being a celebration of the final gathering-in of crops, was a reminder to the people of the period of forty years during which they'd wandered in the wilderness prior to their entering into the Promised Land. Each day of the festival was slightly different in terms of its ceremonial content, the events of the first day in particular having great significance for this claim of Jesus about himself. Because on the evening of the first day a ceremony was held called 'The Illumination of the Temple'. It was a ceremony which remembered and celebrated God's leading of His people with the pillar of fire and it took place in the part of the temple that was called "the Court of the Women", involving, once darkness had fallen, the lighting of four great candelabra which shone out so brightly that it was said by those who witnessed it, that it had the effect of lighting up every courtyard in Jerusalem. There then followed great celebrations throughout the night as the Holy men of Israel danced and sang psalms before the Lord. So then when he declares himself to be "the light of the world" Jesus may well have this ceremony in mind. Because, whilst the light from the temple lit up the whole of Jerusalem for one night amidst great joy, anyone wherever they may be, who follows him, will walk in the light for all time. And that light will be of a completely different nature to the lights in the temple. For we find in the first chapter of Isaiah verse 14 that these Jewish Festivals, which were established by God to enable his people to remember their special relationship with him, and to worship him aright, had in fact become nothing more than a sham. There we hear God saying: "Your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them". In other words in the case of this 'Illumination of the Temple' ceremony, what on the face of it is a celebration of God's light; in reality, because of the way it is being treated, is merely another example of humanity's darkness. Well, we see the difference between Jesus the light of the World as compared with the darkness in which the people around him are living, demonstrated clearly in John chapter 8. Firstly we find a woman who's been caught in the act of adultery being brought to Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees to receive his judgement on what should be done with her. These, by the way, are the same Holy men who will dance before the Lord at the "illumination of the temple". Now of course we're to understand that they aren't doing this out of any concern for the plight of the woman, nor because of any particular concern for upholding of God's Holy law. No, rather this wretched woman is, it seems, simply a convenient instrument for putting Jesus to the test. They know, these holy men, that he's in a 'no win situation'. Because if he sticks to the letter of the law and condemns her to death, then how can he claim to be someone who is different, to be a redeemer? He'll merely be agreeing with their long held views? On the other hand if he declares her to be innocent, then he'll be going against Gods law ... or so they believe. How then does Jesus respond to them? Well by revealing that he is indeed the light of the world and in the process showing the darkness that lies within his questioners for what it is. Because in challenging whoever is without sin to cast the first stone, death by stoning being the Jewish laws punishment for adultery, and by giving them time to think the implications over, Jesus' light pierces the consciences of her tormentors. Until one by one, starting with the most mature ... age wise, spiritually of course none of them are mature, they all leave embarrassed and perhaps a little ashamed. But not, it seems, at all repentant. After they've gone Jesus then proceeds to bring his light to the woman as he makes her too very much aware of the darkness into which she's fallen. And yet his treatment of her is very different to his treatment of those proud, and therefore blind, "holy men". Because instead of making her despair at her situation, adding to her discomfort by condemning her further, Jesus points her towards the light by telling her to go away and to sin no more. That is, to no longer live in the dark. And no doubt the woman did go away, repentant, but also praising God in her heart. This though isn't the end of Jesus "the light of the world" highlighting the darkness of the world in our passage, because we find that the Pharisees continue to criticise him. How can what you say be taken seriously, they say, when every good Jew knows that for a testimony to be true it must be supported by at least two people? Well this, says Jesus, clearly only serves to reveal your spiritual darkness. Because, he insists, if you had truly known the God whose interests you profess to uphold then you'd know who I am and that therefore everything I say is the truth. The fact is that, although because of your position, the things you stand for, the things you do, it's assumed that you do know God, your attitude to me and to others tells the real story. So then Jesus the light of the world, also called the Word by John, became flesh and dwelt among us, promising that those who follow him won't walk in darkness but will have the light of life. And yet as we take a look at our world, and perhaps more tellingly at our own lives, then at times, if we're to be honest, there seems to be far more darkness than light around. And yet how can this be when Christ Jesus, who is indeed the revealing light, has defeated once and for all the dark powers of Satan, when he rose from the dead? Well there are two points to be noted. Firstly, just as was the case for the religious leaders, the holy men, to whom Jesus spoke, many resist the light. "They refuse to love the truth", 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 10, "they refuse to repent and glorify him", Revelation chapter 16 and verse 9, preferring instead to live in their own blind ignorance. And as a result, as Paul says in Chapter 5 of his first letter to the church in Thessalonica, the world is divided into children of the light and children of the night. C.S. Lewis in 'The Last Battle', the final book in his Chronicles of Narnia, gives what is a very good picture of the situation that exists. An old stable has become the gateway into heaven. The dwarves, who hate Aslan, are the first to enter and Aslan's followers then go in after them. His followers find themselves in a lush meadow with flowers and trees under a blue sky, and immediately they feel rested and at peace in the light. The dwarves, on the other hand, huddle together just inside the door not seeing any of this. Indeed not seeing beyond the confines of the small, dark and smelly stable in which they sit moaning and complaining about their condition and about all the people around them ... the light is as night to them. And then the second point to be noted about the continuing darkness of this world is that even the children of light are affected by it because, as Paul clearly explains in Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 12, Christians are engaged in a constant battle, not against earthly things, but against the spiritual powers of darkness. This is how it's always been. The religious leaders, the Holy men of Jesus' day were not evil per se. rather they were men who believed that they were upholding God's righteous law. They were, no doubt many of them, sincere men, but if so they were sincerely wrong. They were people who were in as much darkness as those who they'd been appointed to teach. They were in a battle against that darkness but without the light to overcome it. And what's more they refused the light and so they placed themselves in opposition to it. They were perfect examples of the old saying: "there's none so blind, as them that won't see". And so now we also, if we're Christ's, are engaged in this battle. It's a very dangerous battle, and there's always the very real danger that we, the holy men and women of our day, will become like the holy men of Jesus' day ... not recognising the true power of darkness and the need to constantly be in the light. Yet in order to fight the battle we have all the spiritual weapons that God so graciously makes available to us. Because we're now in Christ we're able to put on the whole armour of God that Paul also speaks of in his letter to the Ephesians. However the problem is that we might not take full advantage of this armour, we may not use it constantly, and the dark arrows of sin and selfish pride might then pierce us, causing us to lead lives that, despite all our zeal, are in reality defeated lives. But then, finally, to encourage us let's remember Jesus' words to those who know him in Matt. 5:14, when he says, "You are the light of the world". For as Christians we aren't just called to defend ourselves against the dark forces of this world but also we're given the great privilege by the God of grace, of being on the offensive. Of challenging the powers of darkness as the light of our Lord is enabled to shine through us, as we reach out to others with Christ's compassion and love, and with his gospel of truth. Such that the darkness, which surrounds us and at times threatens to overcome us, will be highlighted and driven back. So that we, and the world around, will be able to see God's kingdom growing, whilst the Church rejoices and the forces of darkness cower before God's all illuminating light. We are now the light of the world, so let us be that light! Amen 1