The "I AM" Statements of Jesus: I AM the Light of the World

…Jesus, light of the world, you came into a world filled with darkness, and our world became so much brighter. But Lord, your light has dimmed, our hope is overshadowed by fear and dread. Come to us now, shine your light into our hearts so that we can reflect your light to all that we meet and so that the world can see your light more clearly each day, Amen.

Fear of Darkness...

At one time or another in our lives, we all were, or are still, very likely afraid of the dark. As children we knew for sure that there were monsters in the closet or under the bed. But we also knew that even a tiny night light could keep them at bay. As adults we may still have a fear of darkness because we know that often bad things happen under the cloak of night…criminals often act in the darkness of night, hiding in the shadows, waiting for a time to strike when they cannot be seen so easily. Maybe we don’t like darkness because it is easy to become disoriented and lost in the dark, even in our own homes. Sometimes, too, the darkness of night may become a time of loneliness and despair, because the hours of darkness seem to pass much more slowly than the daylight hours.

We cannot forget about the other kind of darkness in our world, the darkness that we read and hear about in news headlines of terror, war and crime. We cannot escape that kind of darkness. Sometimes a different kind of darkness touches our lives too, not just crime, but perhaps the loss of a job, sudden illness or the grief of losing a loved one. That kind of darkness can be overwhelming because no matter how hard we might try, it follows us, even in broad daylight.

We need light...

I know others struggle with the longer nights that we encounter during the fall and winter months. I just seems to me that we need light. We need to be reassured that the darkness has not enveloped our entire world. Even just a little bit of light, to keep the despair that darkness often brings at bay. And there is a light for us, a light from God, who knows all about light because God is the one who created it for us.

In the beginning, at creation, God spoke powerful Words and called light into existence. When God speaks, things happen. God said, “Let there be light,” and “there was light.” There it was, the light that sprang into being at God’s command. And what does scripture tell us in the very next breath...God called the light “good.” God then separated the light from the darkness, naming the light Day and the darkness Night. God called the light good and this leaves us no doubt as to why we prefer light over darkness. The light is good, implying that darkness is not.

But here’s the thing…darkness is not inherently bad, it what we associate with darkness and what happens during the darkest hours of our lives that causes us to see it differently. Because we, as humans, do things that we don’t want to be seen in the darkness, we have created this ideology that darkness is bad. The other part of this is that when we do these things, we move away from God’s love and sin enters our hearts. Humankind has not changed much in over 6,000 years. We still do things under the cloak of night...

The True Light of the World...

God, however, wanted things to be better. God wanted for us to be better, so when the right time had come, God sent the Son into the world, the Word made flesh, to overcome the darkness that had settled into the hearts of those whom God loved. The apostle John says of Jesus: “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4-5).

Jesus even said this of himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus is the light that no darkness can overcome, yet the darkness repeatedly tried to snuff out the Light that God sent into this sin-darkened world.

King Herod, jealous and threatened by the new King of the Jews born in Bethlehem, tried to extinguish the newborn Light, but Jesus escaped with his parents to Egypt. The Pharisees and other religious leaders schemed and plotted to overcome the Light, trying again and again to trap him in his words and turn people against him. Finally they succeeded in their plans. For a little while it appeared that the darkness had finally snuffed out the Light of God. But it was all part of God’s plan to overcome the darkness once and for all. When Jesus was betrayed and arrested by his enemies, he told them, “This is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53). The Light knew that, for a time, he must submit to the powers of darkness so that he might save us from that darkness. Darkness covered the land as Jesus, the Light of the world, hung on the cross and died for the sins of the world, paying the full price of the darkness.

In the end, the Light sent by God was laid in a borrowed tomb and a heavy stone was rolled in front of the door. The tomb was sealed and guarded to make sure that this time the Light would not escape death. But Jesus Christ was, as John said, the Light that darkness could not overcome, not even the darkness of sin, death and the grave. In the early morning light of Easter, an angel rolled the stone to reveal an empty tomb! The Light of the world endured all that this dark world could throw at him—rejection, pain, suffering, grief, despair, loneliness, all the weight of the world’s sin and finally even death—and he overcame it all, rising up from the grave that could not hold him. The Light still shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world.” He is “I am,” the God who saves and sets people free, and by his death and resurrection he has set us free from the darkness of sin and death. His victory is our victory.

Living as the Children of the Light...

Now we live into eternity because, scripture tells us that we are the “children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.” How do you live as a child of the light? Jesus called us lights. He said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden...In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to God who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

So, how do we go about doing this…meaning, how do we go about making sure that others can see the light of Christ in us? Here’s what I think…as we go about our daily work, the light of Jesus, the Light of the world, shines in and through us. The light shows forth when we act in kindness toward others, in doing works of love and service for the people around us, by doing what is right toward others despite how they might treat us. This is how Jesus’ light shines in us.

When we refuse to participate in the things that move us away from God’s love, the light of Jesus shines in us. The apostle Paul wrote it this way, “At one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true)” (Ephesians 5:8-9).

Listen, I get it, we are going to stumble and fail and fall in the tempting darkness of sin—the thing is though, if we are open to the Spirit’s prompting, the Spirit leads us to turn once more to the light in repentance, seeking God’s mercy and forgiveness for the sake of Jesus the Light. And when we truly open ourselves to God’s love, allowing the light of Christ to envelope the darkness that surrounds us, we can enjoy God’s full and free forgiveness in Christ Jesus, because his light then rises once again in our lives.

This world needs a whole lot more light in it, don’t you think? Amen.