The Gift of LiGht

​The Gift of Light
I don’t know if any of you have ever been in a cave, or on a cave tour, but they are quite interesting.  One particular cave I went on we entered into a room that was almost fully enclosed, and our cave guide told us this room was completely dark, meaning there was no light at all, and so when the lights were turned out, we got to experience complete, and I mean complete, darkness.  Now, to scare us, our guide also told us that if we remained there too long, maybe for a few days, we would go completely blind.  And while this is scientifically untrue, the complete darkness was suffocating, scary, and real…and while one’s eyes may not go blind, I definitely felt anxiety within me without light shining in.
How dark must our world get before we realize that we need to be the gift of light to one another?  We live in a society that has spun so far out of control, that we can sling arrows across the world at each other and do so in the name of freedom. 
How dark must our world get before we go completely blind?  We demonize the innocent and the needy, we make it their fault they are homeless, we make it their fault they need help, and we turn a blind eye, pun intended, to their needs.
How dark must our world get before we no longer see the light?  We fail to see the good in each other, we fail to be patient with one another, we fail at being Christian to one another, because we fail to love one another.
Jesus was and is the gift of light to our world and we use our history, our tradition, our faith to do everything opposite of what Jesus called and is calling us to do.  But in order to fully demonstrate this, I want to tell us what the gift of light does or does not do:
 

• Light is cleansing.  In our furnace at home, we have an ultraviolet light that destroys bacteria, when the sun shines on the earth, the power of the ultraviolet rays destroy bacteria.  And just like those lights, the gift of Light from God is a cleansing light, sent to cleanse us of our sins and allow us to be freed to forgive as we are forgiven.

 

• Light does not take over darkness by force, it does not seek to destroy darkness, for in the dark there is sanctity and solemnity too.  No, light seeks to illuminate the darkness, to bring the wrongs to light, to make things known, to allow us to be wise amidst the world, and the gift of Light from God awakes us to see in a whole new way.

 

• The gift of Light from God is a humble light.  It came into our world in the from of an infant, it walked through our world for most of its life as a carpenter and a “common man.”  And even when fully realized and at its peak of power, the gift of Light in our world laid down its life upon a Cross.  Yes, God who could have completely destroyed anyone and everyone, instead chose humility, sacrifice, and death to demonstrate the ultimate power of the Light.

 

• The gift of Light is love.  How come we cannot love?  It is one of the burning questions which drives me into much contemplation.  As a historian, I have studied the course of history from the dawn of humanity and we do the same things over and over again…and unfortunately, we all know too well that one of those things is not love.  There are moments when we do well, when we figure things out, but it is usually only after times of great sorrow, great human loss, great tragedy, that we finally love one another.  The gift of Light, God incarnate, lived and taught us to love one another and hearing it from God’s mouth was still not good enough for our stubborn ears, our closed hearts, and our sin-filled minds.  And so, the Light did what love sometimes has to do, it died to become something more, something eternal, and to grant us the same future; eternal life through the love of God.  But how much longer do we plan on ignoring the fact that God has called us to love one another?

 

• The gift of Light is revolutionary.  Why was King Herod so worried?  He knew that he was a corrupt and unworthy “king.”  He knew that if magi from the East knew, the whole world knew, and he knew the Isaiahic prophecy was not about him, but this newborn king.  And as such, the gift of Light into the world was revolutionary because it was going to change the world.  It is fitting that magi, who were not Jews, who were not monotheistic, who were probably very much pagan worshippers of multiple gods, could recognize the signs that a new king was about to come into the world and completely change things.  AS we talked about in the children’s message, the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were prophetic in this regard.  But moreover, this recognition symbolizes for us that Jesus did not just come to revolutionize Judaism, but to bring a new message to gentiles and Jews alike.  And the revolution that Jesus was/is…you guessed it is a peaceful, humble, respectful, all Glory to God, and loving revolution.  Not one that will be won with weapons of destruction or fists of war, but one that is meant to revolutionize our minds so that we put our trust in God, our hands so that we reach out to help those who need us, our feet so that we move and meet, and our hearts so that we turn away from sin and away from pride, arrogance, and stubbornness; and turn toward God with love and toward each other with love.

 

• The gift of Light is never-ending.  God is still working today in and through us.  We just have to listen and act.  And perhaps ask ourselves whenever we interact with ourselves or one another, “Is my response peaceful?  Is my response humble?  Is my response trusting in God? Is my response glorifying God? Is my response one of love?” 

 
Despite complete blindness from the cave I spoke of at the beginning being a myth that the guide used to make our experience a little scary; we have all experienced temporary blindness at some point or another.  We have all had someone turn on a light in a dark room, or walked out of a movie theater into a bright day, or something similar that forces us to kind of put our hand up, blink profusely, be in a little pain, but then ultimately we get used to the light and adjust accordingly. 
How fitting a metaphor for how God works in our life.  Perhaps a little discomforting to know that love is the only answer, perhaps a bit painful to remember the sins of our past, perhaps forces us to put our hands up wondering what in the world we can do, and perhaps we blink profusely because the tears of knowledge that God’s love is enough for us and the world are streaming down our face.
And as such, I have saved the greatest part of the gift of Light for last: the Gift of Light heals.  It takes broken people and makes them whole, it takes broken souls and renews them, it takes people who know not love and loves them, it takes a world torn apart and mends it back together and it takes you and I to do it, for we have seen Jesus in our lives, and that gift is meant to be shared.  We no longer have to live in darkness, fear, doubt, or misery; for we know what it is like in the light and we get to choose.  Our blindness is only temporary.  It is when we choose the gift of Light that our eyes are opened and we see, Amen