“Light in the Darkness”
December 24th, 2007
John 1:1-5 - What is it that allows us to hope for light in the darkness of this world? What is it that allows us to face each day with a sense of optimism? God is with us. That is what the birth of Jesus means. God is with us - literally - shining the light of love and grace into the darkness of our lives.
“Light in the Darkness”
John 1:1-5
1. I am a big fan of Lance Armstrong. For those of you who do not know who he is…
A. He was the first rider in history to win the Tour de France – seven times in a row.
B. The Tour is one of the most grueling events in all of sports. Bicyclists (that’s two wheels and pedals, no motors here) race over 2100 miles over the period of about three weeks through all sorts of terrain and in all kinds of conditions. It is won as much by attrition as it is by skill.
C. To be able to just participate in the Tour demonstrates that you are among the elite of the world’s bicycle racers.
D. But to win once, let alone seven times in a row, is an absolutely remarkable achievement.
E. What makes Lance Armstrong’s story even more amazing, however, is that in October of 1996, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
F. Lance aggressively fought the disease with several surgeries and chemotherapy. It was over a year before he was able to even ride a bike again, let alone consider the possibility of returning to championship form.
G. At one point at the beginning of his treatment, Lance’s first doctor gave him little more than a one-percent chance at survival. Lance decided to get another doctor.
2. So how, in the face of all of these obstacles did Lance Armstrong find the strength to not only beat this disease, but to also return to win the Tour de France seven consecutive times? How was he able to get his body, his mind, and his spirit in the shape that they needed to be in in order to achieve such a great accomplishment?
A. Faith may be the answer. Faith in faith itself. In his autobiography, Lance writes, “I believed in belief, for its own shining sake. To believe in the face of utter hopelessness …what other choice was there? Without belief, we would be left with nothing but an overwhelming sense of doom, every single day. And it will beat you. I didn’t fully see…how we fight every day against the creeping negatives of this world…Dispiritedness and disappointment, these were the real perils of life.”
B. Unwittingly, perhaps, Lance Armstrong articulated very well the principle of tonight’s gospel lesson.
C. You may not recognize it as such, but this is John’s version of the Christmas story. Granted, there are no shepherds, no wise men, no manger, there is only the “light shining in the darkness.” And the “darkness did not overcome it.”
D. John is less interested in the story itself, and more interested in the reality that the Christmas story celebrates, the reality of the light of God penetrating the darkness of human existence. And the darkness did not overcome it.
E. When the Word of God became flesh and blood in the form of the Christ child, nothing on earth could ever be the same…
F. The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not over come it.
3. And the darkness – the creeping negatives of our world – are all around us.
A. And may I say that I love the phrase “creeping negatives.”
B. Many of us do not see how the world tears away at the fabric of our lives.
C. Too busy doing things that don’t seem to really matter to spend time doing the things that do.
D. Fine houses and beautiful cars. But not to far below the surface lay creeping negatives that slowly, often without being noticed, wear us down. Until we have run out of hope.
E. And at Christmas – we are called to believe that the package is most important, rather than the love expressed in the giving of the package.
4. We need to remember that we gather here tonight to worship a savior who began his time on earth in a stable, surrounded by animals. And if you recall, the innkeeper in that famous story from Luke’s gospel didn’t say, “hey, let me go clean out the stable for you. Let me go make it habitable for a young family.” No, he basically pointed to where the stable was, and sent them on their way.
A. Jesus, God made flesh, the object of our worship and devotion, began his earthly existence surrounded by the sights and smells of a stable. He lay in a manger, which is essentially a trough for animals to come eat from.
B. When we sing the song “Away in a Manger” every year, let us not romanticize the words “no crib for his head.” The beginnings of Jesus earthly existence were dire indeed.
C. From birth in a stable to trekking to Egypt with his family as an infant, Jesus life was surrounded by darkness and despair. He was born into a world where war and revolution were always on people’s minds.
D. When we remember the danger and the darkness that surrounded Jesus Christ as he came into the world, we begin to truly see what it means that the “light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.”
E. Jesus’ arrival into this life was nothing less than God’s emphatic proclamation of his love for humanity. And nothing could ever be the same again.
F. If we can embrace that truth, that reality, than perhaps we can begin to invite the light of God’s love into our hearts this Christmas season, whether we are riding the clouds of seasonal euphoria or whether we find ourselves in the grip of despair. The message of Christmas is the same; that the light will shine in the darkness of our lives if we open ourselves up to it. It will transform us, redeem us, and strengthen us for the challenges that we face in every day life…
G. So, what does all this mean? Break it down for us. It means that God had done virtually everything He can. He has become one of us. He has submitted himself to our care, to our laws, even to our sins.
H. God has become one of us so that he might take all of the creeping negatives of this world onto himself, so that we might have life and have it abundantly.
I. And that is what it means to say that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it.
4. A Christmas tradition that Cindy and I enjoy together is spending an evening at South Coast Repertory Theatre enjoying a their production of the Charles Dickens classic, “A Christmas Carol.”
A. Hal Landon, Jr. gives an inspired performance as Ebenezer Scrooge, the most curmudgeonly person ever to walk the streets of London. I am sure you remember the story.
B. Scrooge is the meanest skinflint this side of heaven, but heaven isn’t exactly where he’s headed, if you know what I mean. Then, by the grace of God, he is visited on Christmas Eve by three spirits, the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.
C. They demonstrate to him how his selfishness and greed have affected those around him, and how they have affected Scrooge himself.
D. But, most of all what the spirits do, is shine the light of grace and love into the darkness of the mean and bitter existence that Scrooge’s life has become.
D. Well, as I am sure you know, the spirits are successful in their work and at the end of the night, Scrooge is a changed man.
E. I have to confess, near the end of the play, as Scrooge jumped up and down on his bed like a little kid, shouting about his new found joy of living; I sat in the theatre holding back tears. It was an overwhelming moment.
F. I have seen this production countless times over the last 20 years, and every time I see it, I am moved to tears.
G. Perhaps it is the depiction of the light shining in the darkness.
5. A child does not have to do much to be a source of joy in the world. They coo, they cry, they drink their formula, they sleep…sometimes they fall asleep while you are holding them.
A. And all of it seems to fill their loved ones with pride and joy.
B. But, only one child in all of human history has been the source of light for all humanity.
C. Only one child carried with him in the swaddling clothes in which he laid the hope for all humankind.
D. Only one child was God made flesh.
E. And in the life of the child Jesus, the light began to shine in the darkness.
F. Will you allow the light of God to penetrate your own heart? Will you let the child in? Amen.
Sermon delivered 12/24/07 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church – Anaheim Hills
