I AM…the Light of the World

John 8:12

 

            The ensign called out on his radio to the light he saw through the thick, dense fog: “Marine vessel bearing two-niner west please make an immediate turn bearing due north.”  The ensign heard back immediately, “This is Admiral Smith on said vessel bearing two-niner west, with whom am I speaking?”  “This is ensign Johnson, U.S. Navy, sir.”  “Ensign, as I am an admiral and you are an ensign, I suggest you bear due north.” “Negative, sir, no can do.  I advise you bear due north immediately.”  The Admiral exploded at the ensign’s impertinence!  “Ensign, I am sitting on the bridge of a United States Navy aircraft carrier.  You bear due north, and I’m not going to repeat myself!”  “I’m sorry, sir, no can do.  You see, I’m sitting in the office of the Portsmouth Bay Lighthouse. Now, please, sir, bear due north.”

 

            Jesus is the light of the world.  There are other lights in the world. Some shine brightly.  Some shine dimly.  Some glimmer with hope.  Some barely glimmer at all.  But only of Jesus Christ can it be said that he is the light which makes all other lights dim; only of Jesus can it be said that he is the light of life, the light that shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome the light (John 1:4-5).

 

*****

 

            To appreciate Jesus’ audacity we must recognize that Jesus has taken for himself the divine name: I AM.  “I AM the Light of the World.”  In the introduction to this series we discussed briefly the sacredness with which the Israelites treated the divine name.  Yet here we hear the name not only spoken by Jesus but as a self-reference! Strike one. 

 

We must also recognize that Jesus has taken for himself that which was reserved for God and for God’s anointed.  In Psalm 27:1 we read these words:

 

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

 

Or again, in Isaiah 60:19 we read:

 

The sun will no more be your light by day,

nor will the brightness of the moon shine upon you,

for the Lord will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory.

 

Excuse me?  Who is the light?  Why, the Lord is the light!  Yet Jesus says, “I AM the Light of the World.” Strike two.

 

To appreciate fully Jesus’ audacity, however, we must understand the scene in John 7 – 9.  It is the Feast of Tabernacles, the fall festival that celebrated both the harvest and the desert wanderings of the Israelite people.  As we remember our Sunday School lessons, we will recall that God led the people through a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  To celebrate God’s leading of his people, on day one of the Feast of Tabernacles four huge menorahs would be lit in the Court of Women, one of the outer courts in the Temple area.  These four menorahs were so huge that it was said that every courtyard in Jerusalem, a town of 30,000 residents, was illuminated.  Those of you from Texas might think of the Aggie bonfire; those of you from New York might think of Times Square at 42^nd and Broadway.  A gi-normous amount of light was produced. There, standing in the shadow of the Aggie bonfire, in the heart of Times Square, next to more fire than any of us would find comfortable or can probably imagine, Jesus spoke these words: “I AM the light of the world” (John 8:12). “Do you think this Aggie bonfire has power and energy to take the night away?  It’s nothing compared to me,” says Jesus.  “Do you think these bright lights of Broadway sparkle?  They barely glitter next to me,” says our Lord Jesus. Strike three.

 

*****

 

            What are we to make of Jesus’ words: “I AM the Light of the World”?  At the very least, there are three things that these words reveal.

 

            First, that Jesus is the light of the world means that Jesus reveals God’s character.  It is the nature of light to reveal things.  If this sanctuary was completely dark we would be able to see neither the pulpit nor the pews.  But because there is light from within and without, this sanctuary is fully illuminated.  In a similar way, Jesus illuminates God’s character. Jesus made this point himself later in John’s Gospel when he told Phillip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9).

 

            The theologian Jurgenn Moltmann reminds us that to look at Jesus is to see the character of God.:

 

The death of Jesus on the cross is the center of all Christian theology.  The meaning of this is that this is God, and God is like this.  God is not greater than Jesus is in this humiliation.  God is not more glorious than Jesus is in this self-surrender.  God is not more powerful than Jesus is in this helplessness. God is not more divine than Jesus is in this humanity.

 

            Because it is the case that the light of Jesus Christ illumines the character of God, there are certain, common conceptions of God that must be surrendered.  For instance, do any of you know someone, perhaps a friend or possibly yourself, who believes that God is harsh and judgmental, always ready to pounce at any moral indiscretion?  Most of us know someone who believes this is what God is like.  Yet what does Jesus reveal about God in this matter?  What Jesus reveals is that God is tender and forgiving.  Consider the following examples.

 

·        In John 4 we read of Jesus’ encounter with a Samaritan women.  Jews were supposed to hate Samaritans due to an ancient enmity.  Women in that day and culture were both not to be heard and not to be seen, especially not alone. Yet Jesus both engaged this women in conversation but addressed her in her brokenness offering to her words of hope and healing: “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water” (4:10).

 

·        In John 8 we read of Jesus’ encounter with a woman caught in adultery, in the very act.  (Where the man was we do not know, for the moral police of the day did not also produce the male partner to the crime.)  And it was a crime; a capital offense in that day and age.  Yet what does Jesus say to the woman?  “Woman, where are your accusers?”  “They are gone, sir,” replied the woman. “Then neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (8:10-11).

 

Jesus reveals the character of God and that character is tender and forgiving.  Yet God’s character is also fierce and unrelenting.  Let there be an end to all such nonsense that paints God as some kind of cosmic wimp!  Consider the following examples.

 

·        When confronting the Pharisees’ in their hypocrisy and the experts in the law in their oppression of the people, Jesus minced no words to describe their stewardship of those whom they were called to shepherd: “Woe to you Pharisees, you are like unmarked graves, which folk walk over without knowing…Woe to you experts in the law because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them” (Luke 11:44, 46).

 

·        When Jesus entered the Temple area, he turned over the tables of the money changers and drove people from the Temple area with a whip of cords (John 2:15).  Now think about this: Jesus was a carpenter, right?  In an age before power tools, right?  I’m guessing that Jesus was fairly buff; even more, I’m guessing that seeing Jesus with a whip was a scary sight.

 

*****

 

Second, that Jesus is the light of the world means that Jesus provides guidance for our living.  Light is ancient navigation’s source; the stars were the lights by which ancient travelers journeyed. Like stars, Jesus guides us into God’s love and God’s truth.

 

Of course, the notion of stars helping us 21^st century folk with navigation is a bit archaic.  Perhaps a better image is that of a GPS.  Let’s think about the image of Jesus as our GPS for a moment.  A GPS does us no good if we are parked; only as we are moving forward does the GPS guide and direct where we are to go.  In a similar way, Jesus guides and directs us as we move forward in faith in search of the truth of God’s will and God’s way.

 

Have you ever tried to follow Jesus’ words?  Of course you have.  But have you ever tried to follow all of Jesus’ words?  Here is a challenge: over the course of the next week, read Matthew 5-7, what we call the Sermon on the Mount.  Read Matthew 5-7 and look for those words of Jesus that are difficult and which push your “discomfort button”: don’t worry, there a plenty of such words. Jesus says all sorts of outrageous things in the Matthew 5-7, such as we are to be forgiving, to be prayerful, to be loving toward our enemies, to be generous beyond our ordinary measurement of such things, not to mention what he says about lust and worry.  Again, don’t be concerned that you’ll find everything Jesus says to your liking.  You won’t.  But here is the challenge: choose one of these uncomfortable words and follow it.  Forgive.  Pray.  Be generous.  Don’t lust.  Don’t worry. Look for an enemy you can love. My guess is that you will find following Jesus’ guidance difficult; my promise is that if you persevere you will find following Jesus’ guidance the path to a peace and a sense of wholeness that surprises even the most comfortable Christian among us.

 

Jesus’ guidance for living was first given to me through a friend named Bill.  Bill and I life guarded together in San Clemente, California.  I was 17 and Bill was a couple of years older.  Bill had heard that I had become a Christian, which was true as I had accepted Christ as Savior several weeks before the conversation in which Bill was to give me Jesus’ guidance.  I had accepted Christ as Savior but not yet accepted him as Lord.  There was a party one night at the beach, and I did what I normally did at beach parties: I drank.  A lot.  No big deal, right?  I was a high school senior, California high school, party at the beach; of course I drank. 

 

The next day Bill took me aside while we were both getting ready to work.  He said, “Hey, I heard a rumor that you have become a Christian.”  “Yeah, I have,” I told him excitedly.  “Yeah, I noticed, though, that you were drinking pretty hard last night.”  “Yeah, so?” I asked perplexed, not knowing where he was going with this line of questioning.  “Well,” he spoke gently, even timidly, “Jesus doesn’t want us to get wasted.”  “Really?  I’ve never heard of that.”  “Yeah, he thinks being in control of oneself is important because it helps us do what is right and treat others the way God would want us to treat them.”  Bill’s words made sense to me. I now realize how much courage it took for Bill to confront me the way he did; I am grateful to him. Up to that point in my brand, spanking new Christian life, I had called Jesus, Savior; afterwards, I also called him Lord. And the Lord Jesus, the Light of the World, guides me, and you, with his light, however imperfectly we may follow it.

 

*****

 

            Third, that Jesus is the Light of the World means that Jesus gives life.  Life is what light provides.  I had read of the process of photosynthesis in high school biology, but it wasn’t until I moved to Colorado that I appreciated the bond between sun and plant.  Living as I do in the sunflower capital of Colorado, Pueblo West, it amazes me to watch as these sunflowers literally follow the sun, turning their faces to the sun as it marches across the horizon.  That sun light is, quite literally, life to the sunflowers.  In a similar way, the Son light that Jesus gives is, quite spiritually, life to the son-followers.

            When Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, shines down upon us, life happens.  It was that way for the Hmar people of northeastern India.  In 1910 the Hmar lived in a remote village in the British Colony of India, and the British foreign ministry said of them that they were “the worst of all the headhunters in India.” 

 

            One day a traveler brought a single copy of the Gospel of John to the Hmar people and the light of the world began to shine upon the Hmar.  Through the ministry of that single copy of John, the Hmar people converted to Christ.  The Hmar say of their story that Jesus transformed them from headhunters to hearthunters. The people from that tiny village in India have since founded one college, five high schools, 30 elementary schools, including 8 for India’s untouchables, one hospital and 300 churches.  Their shared vision is to provide one billion Bibles to the people of the world that others may know the light of Jesus and know life in his name.

 

            The light Jesus gave to one young man was shone upon him in a peculiar way. The young man was a baseball player with a ferocious temper.  One game there was a close play at third and the umpire in the field called the young man out.  Furious, the young man began to curse the umpire, the umpire’s mother and everything else associated with the umpire.  Of course the young man was tossed from the game.  As the young man jogged across the infield, he noticed that his path was going to take him directly in front of the home plate umpire, whom the young man knew to be a strong Christian.  Afraid of what the home plate umpire might say, the young man vowed to keep his head down and not look at the home plate umpire.  But he couldn’t help himself.  His curiosity got the best of him. He just had to know what the ump would do. To his eternal surprise, the ump winked.

 

            The young man was absolutely stunned.  “Did the ump just wink at me?” he thought.  “After everything I said to his friend?”  The young man now says that that one wink caused him to wonder what kind of God the ump was following if he could wink at him after all that he had done. It was the beginning of a huge ice melt around the young man’s heart that led him to give his life to Jesus. I heard the young man’s story from my friend Peter Barnes who is a pastor in Boulder.  Of the young man, Peter says this: “He’s the best youth pastor I have ever known.” The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood the light (John 1:5).

 

*****

 

            What are we to do with Jesus, the Light of the World?

 

            One thing we must do is to receive him as Savior and Lord, for to do otherwise would be to walk in darkness.  But the question, then, is this: what does it mean to receive Jesus?  What does it look like to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord?  Are there specific words that must be said?  A prayer spoken a certain way? An attitude of heart and mind and soul that must be affirmed?  No.  No.  And yes.  No, there is no magic formula of words to be spoken.  No, there is no set prayer that must be uttered.  Yes, there is an attitude of heart and mind and soul that must be affirmed; namely, one must open oneself to relationship with Jesus.

 

            To understand the loving, forgiving character of God requires relationship, for it is a personal rather than academic kind of understanding.  To embrace Jesus as guide for our living requires relationship, for one cannot (or at least will not) follow someone they do not know and trust.  To receive the gift of life that comes through Jesus requires relationship, for God gives life to his children.

 

            Why do little children (usually) obey their parents?  Because they want to please Mommy and Daddy.  Why am I willing to watch a “chick flick” with my wife?  Because I want to please her.  Why is my wife willing to watch an occasional football game with me? Because she is a tolerant and selfless spouse, of course.  My point is this: in all of these situations the relationship is determinative; that is, the relationship creates a new, life-giving reality that would not exist otherwise. Jesus wants to be that new, life-giving reality for you. Will you let him?

 

*****

 

            On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occurred, there was once a crude little life-saving station next to the Portsmouth Bay Lighthouse.  The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost. Some of those who were saved, and various others in the surrounding area, wanted to become associated with the station and give of their time and money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little life-saving station grew and prospered.

 

Some of the members of the life-saving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building. Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place, and the members decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, however, so they hired life-boat crews to do this work. The life-saving motif still prevailed in the club’s decor, and there was a liturgical life-boat in the room where initiations were held.

 

About this time a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in boat loads of cold, wet and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick and some of them had dark skin or tattered clothes. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside. As the years went by, a number of other clubs were built along that shore, right beside the Portsmouth Bay Lighthouse. Really, the entire coast line was being developed rather splendidly.

 

Shipwrecks are still frequent in those waters, and most of the people drown.