Tell of the Light—Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19; John 1: 1-13
Every summer when I was growing up, churches would have Vacation Bible School. In our modern day and times, I fear that has gone the way of the Dodo. It’s no longer hip, rad, groovy, cool, fetch, or Gucci, or whichever word the kids are using to say “in fashion” these days. But I actually enjoyed going to Vacation Bible School, and I realize that is the biggest nerd alert I could offer. We got to do arts and crafts for 45 minutes, and I could ignore most everyone while pretending I had any kind of visual art skills whatsoever. We got those church snacks…you know the ones… they were the off brand Oreos and that orange punch that was kind of like Kool-Aid, but not quite.
But most of all we got to stomp and march in the sanctuary of the church while singing super exciting songs. It was as close to dancing as we got growing up Southern Baptist. And one of my favorite songs was “Be a Light for Jesus.” The chorus was simply over and over the words, “Be a light shining bright; be a light for Jesus every day.” Those words should resonate as we hear John’s Gospel say to us “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about that light, so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.”
Let’s focus in on those words…the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. Advent is the season where we look for the light of Christ to come into a world that one might describe as dark, perhaps, filled with oppression, pain, personal trials, and struggle. Much like the people in the world Jesus was born into, we also feel a sense of darkness, foreboding, and doom and gloom in our world and lives today. Some of you could probably write a book on the dark places you have had to navigate in your lives.
Many people feel alone in our world. 7.8 billion people exist on this planet, but I bet you if many of us confessed freely, we would admit to feelings of loneliness and isolation. Many feel unloved or rejected by families. It’s no secret that marriages can get difficult, families may be toxic, or may reject certain family members if they don’t think right, act right, mental health right, love right, or live right. Just like many of us see dark places and feel held hostage by the dark places, secrets, sufferings, and struggles in our lives, so to was the world suffering in Jesus’s day. Rome was a brutal ruler, and for any brutality Rome missed, the local rulers and religious leaders made up for it.
This was not a system of politics and religion, no, instead it was a machine of suffering and oppression. The peace of Rome was held in place by the sword and spear, as well as crucifixions looming on the horizon lest anyone forget the penalty for disagreeing. It would be easy to believe that John the Baptist, the herald of Christ, who preached repentance, the hope of one coming who would take the sins of the world…surely this prophet in the wilderness lived a life of grace and hope, right, of course, right?
But John the Baptist, like Jesus, came into a world that rejected him, a world where he didn’t fit, his life was inconvenient, ugly, unwanted. And in the end, John the Baptist met a very gruesome, terrifying end that would make the strongest heart shudder. But even though John was robbed of his hope in this world, he had a better hope to believe in. Jesus is the light of the world; that light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
If we are to overcome, to have that better hope, friends, we must look for that light in our lives. Growing up, there used to be trains that would haul coals from the mines out of the very mountainous county in Eastern Kentucky. It was fun, sometimes, to walk to old, long-abandoned tracks and go through the long train tunnels. At times it could get very dark, but you only had to look for that light at the end, to know at some point, you’d get through the darkness.
That is how life is. John the Baptist came to tell of that light of hope, and Jesus came to bring that light of hope. Don’t focus on the people and situations which criticize, which cause you to suffer, which make life unbearable and difficult for you…where you find yourself oppressed. And don’t get lost in the millions of different things people say about Jesus. You have the book…read what he said for yourselves. One line even says, “Come to me, you who labor, and I will give you rest.” Anyone who offers you a version filled with hate, tension, and suffering, well, they missed the point. Jesus is the light of the world, come to this earth to redeem us from the dark places and equip us to tell of that light in our lives.
So, what do we do when we feel that light grow dim? What do we do when you feel so overwhelmed and suffocated by life that you feel you can’t find your way out? What do you do when someone, maybe even family, rejects you or purposefully makes you feel unloved and unwelcome? I invite you to go back to verse 4 of the Vacation Bible School hymn: “Keep your light bright, shining all the world around, be a light for Jesus every day; ‘Till, released from darkness, all the Lord have found, Be a light for Jesus every day. Be a light shining bright for Jesus every day.”
When we walk with Jesus, we become that light shining in the world. If you find yourself surrounded by darkness, be a light. If you see pain and suffering, go over and be their light. If you see others rejected, lonely, and hurting, marginalized by a society which isn’t always kind, be a light. If you see older folks, younger folks, anyone who needs a friend or has lost their way, be a light. You don’t have to wait for something big and grand to happen. Go be a light for Jesus. And eventually, if you shine enough light in the world, it might just spread around and bring a little joy and hope to the dark places.
I’m probably going to embarrass someone a bit with this story, but it’s a good example. One of my greatest fears with this whole heart surgery was for my mother. I knew I was fine. Either I woke up and all was good, or I met Jesus, and I’ve known Jesus for a long time, so I wasn’t too worried there. But I was terrified for my mom to be alone for up to 8 or 9 long hours of surgery. And I was especially terrified for her to be alone, in a strange place, should something go wrong.
But at 6:45 in the morning while I was sitting there in hospital gown getting wired up to every tube they had available, in walked Reverend Doug Ivey…6:45 AM, at Emory in Atlanta. And he stayed with my mom for the entire day. And I am convinced that him bringing that light of hope and comfort, made things go easier for me, because I didn’t have to go under filled with the darkness of worry.
Friends, we are going to encounter a lot of dark and godless places in the world if we journey here long enough. The call we have is to remember who we follow—the living, loving, redeeming Christ—the light of the world. And that light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. John the Baptist was called of God to tell of the light and the coming hope of Christ.
But for us who know Christ, who seek to have a better relationship with Christ, and who may seek to overcome some painful, dark places, we can do much, much more than just tell of that light. We can be a light of hope in the dark places of this world. It’s an opportunity, and it’s a gift. Be a light, shining bright, be a light shining bright, be a light for Jesus every day.
Worship Video: https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/663422649305811