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Sermons

“DARKNESS AND LIGHT”
GOSPEL SCRIPTURE TEXT:  JOHN 1:1-14

DR. DAVE RING, PASTOR
LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 30, 2007

Gospel Scripture Text:  John 1:1-14 (New International Version) – 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Message:  Dr. Larry Lacour, a now-retired United Methodist clergyman, recalls what once happened during his presentation of a Children’s Sermon while serving as pastor of First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs.   He asked the children who had gathered around him at the front of the sanctuary to say the first other word that came to their minds in response to the word “church.”  One little boy immediately piped up with the word “dark.”  Dr. Lacour was confused.  “Dark?” he asked.  “Church makes you think of dark?”  “Sure,” said the boy, “It’s too dark in here.  It’s so dark it makes me feel like going to sleep.”  That small boy’s comment ultimately led to First United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs upgrading the lighting throughout its buildings, bringing its level of illumination up to the standards prescribed for Colorado Public Schools – with which the boy was probably making unconscious comparison.

Darkness – and light.  There is a darkness in our world; a darkness which pervades homes, schools, restaurants, motels, office buildings, and sometimes even churches.  It’s a darkness that can’t be dispelled simply by opening curtains to let in sunlight or by installing higher wattage bulbs.  This darkness is so terrible that it can cause a person to stumble about as though blind even when outdoors at high noon on a cloudless day.  It is an inner darkness – a darkness affecting not physical eyes, but spiritual souls.  It’s a gloomy and dreadful darkness, for its instigator is the prince of darkness himself, the archenemy of God:  Satan.

The very first words uttered by God in the Bible, found in Genesis chapter one, verse three, are these:  “Let there be light!”  From the outset of creation, God has been the author of light, both in the physical sense – through making the sun, moon, and stars, and in the spiritual sense of providing illumination to guide men and women on firm, clearly defined paths through the twists and turmoils of life.  “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me.”  In the companionship of God, even the darkness of humanity’s greatest dread, death, is dispelled by divine light.

From the time of creation onward, it was always possible for men and women to receive the light of God into their lives – but most found it difficult to do so.  As St. Paul comments in Romans 1, the “invisible nature of God” was readily apparent to those who cared to look for it -- but few did.  Far more were lost to darkness than were redeemed unto light.

Approximately two thousand years ago, however, God made a revolutionary change in His ways of dealing with humans.  Instead of remaining invisible and mysterious, far-off and unsearchable, God chose to fully reveal Himself, in light and glory, to our world.  He came to us as a man, that there might no longer exist any barrier between God and humanity.

Jesus Christ, the light of the world, was and is the complete revelation of God on earth.  Jesus is Emmanuel – God with us.  In him is life – abundant life in this world; eternal life in the Kingdom to come.  In Jesus is truth – honest, complete answers to the difficult questions of life itself.  In Jesus is a way – the way, the easiest way – out of darkness and into light!

During Jesus’ days of walking this earth, the light that He brought was resented and rejected by many.  Its dazzling brilliance exposed the meanness and degradation of their lives and, like sleepers suddenly awakened, they shut their eyes – and their hearts – tightly against it.  Darkness was too familiar, too comfortable, for many.  They sought to shut out the light – to quench it.  And they almost succeeded.  Almost.

There was another reaction among some to the light of Jesus.  Like the others, they found it uncomfortable – disturbing at first.  In the full light of God’s glory, they saw themselves wholly revealed – and the sight made them ashamed.  But instead of turning away from the light and crawling back into the darkness, they threw themselves forward – upon the mercy of God.  And God forgave their sins, allowing them to become new creatures – with the light of Jesus firmly implanted in their souls to guide them, eventually, unto life eternal.

Today there are still two types of responses by men and women to the light of Jesus.  Some resent it, ignore it, hide from it, try to put it out.  These prefer to wander in darkness rather than face the soul-searching light of God.  Others find the light a probing key to unlock themselves – difficult to cope with at first, yes – but gradually enabling them to live in ever-increasing love, joy, and peace on earth, with the sure hope of eternal life in the full light of God ahead.

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