I Am The Light Of The World
Sermon
by Ronald Lavin
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"I am the light of the world."

-- John 8:12 (NRSV)

"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

-- John 9:5 (NRSV)

"You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father in heaven."

-- Matthew 5:14-16 (NRSV)

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Imagine that you are in a very dark place, where you cannot see. In the darkest places, you would not be as much in the dark as the blind man described in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of John, but imagining yourself in a dark room may help you get into the story in which Jesus says, "I am the light of the world."

Actually, the blindness described in the text is two-fold: the physical blindness of the man and the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees (John 8:13-19). It is the latter about which we should most concern ourselves, since spiritual blindness remains a serious problem for many -- for people both in the church and outside the church. Jesus came to be the light of the world. That is a needed message for those who dwell in spiritual darkness.

Imagine The Possibilities When Jesus Is Our Light

Jesus came bringing light to our darkness in order that we might see better and that we might help others see better. A line from the play Butterflies Are Free describes the problem of spiritual blindness well: "There are none so blind as those who refuse to see." That's the Pharisees' problem. They aren't physically blind, yet they do not see. They are not paying attention.

An old nursery rhyme describes the blindness of those who refuse to see:

Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been? I've been to London to visit the Queen. Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there? I frightened a mouse under the chair.

The cat didn't see the Queen or the castle or London. The cat only saw the mouse. There is a blindness in that cat. We see only what gets our attention. That blindness is identified in Isaiah 42:20: "You have seen many things, but have paid no attention" (NIV).

Please note that it isn't physical blindness but not paying attention to what is seen, which is the problem. "What gets your attention, gets you," E. Stanley Jones once said. If you give your attention to sin and glance at God, sin will get you. If you give your attention to God and glance at sin, God will get you. Spiritual blindness consists of giving our attention to something other than God.

An ineffective pastor was once described to me in these terms: "He majors in minors." In other words, he did not make the most of his time. To live as "children of light" (Ephesians 5:8), we are called to "make the most of the time" (Ephesians 5:16). Anything less is spiritual blindness, "refusing to see."

Jesus is the light of the world. He shines in the darkness like a laser beam knifing its way through a dark night, or like a beacon light on the black sea. He shines in the darkness like the sun which came up behind me as I traveled on a highway recently in the foggy, bleak and dark morning. That sun radiated out a new warmth and light which changed my attitude about the whole day. Jesus is like that. Jesus is the light of the world, and that new light means new life, as the Gospel of John says. In the opening chapter of the Gospel of John, we read these words: "In him (that is in Jesus) was life and that life was the light of men" (John 1:4 NRSV).

A friend recently wrote,

The weather outside has a lot to do with how I feel inside. Today I felt down and realized that I felt that way because it was dark and gloomy outside. I feel so fantastic when its sunny outside. It's the same way with Jesus in your life. He gives you light; brings you out of the 'gloomy' life and lifestyle. He opens your eyes and lets you see what is really important in life and gives you a purpose for really living.

Many people claim that the kind of day it is has a lot to do with their mood. If it is a dark, gloomy day, they tend to feel dark and gloomy. On a bright, sunny day they tend to feel bright and sunny. If that is true for you, then I hope you will remember that Jesus is the very warming rays of God which come to our dark world in order to change our attitude. Jesus is a mood changer. Through an attitude change, he can help you interpret what is happening around you in a new and different way. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world."

The first chapter of the Gospel of John tells us that there is something about Jesus' light, that he had a quality of eternal life in him which gave light to other people. The Gospel says that that new quality of life was something that helped people see better, not in the physical sense, but in the sense that we would be able to perceive and know better what was going on in the world.

"In him was life and the life was the light of all people" (John 1:4, NRSV). That means that the life which is from God comes to this dark little planet and sheds new insight and new perception so that those who come to the Word of life can see better and know better and live better and be better. Imagine the possibilities.

Jesus said, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (John 9:5, NRSV). He also said to the disciples, "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14, NRSV). When you put these two verses together they mean that when Jesus is gone, he expects his disciples to continue the light of life which he brought. That's quite a job description!

Imagine The Possibilities When We Know That We Are The Light Of The World

On Wednesday, October 27, 1993, I walked to University of Arizona Hospital where I had a doctor's appointment. There I was greeted by a large United Way sign at the entrance: "IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES." That made me stop and think about the Word of God and our lives. Imagine the possibilities if Christians start using the light God gives them.

Dr. Reuel Howe, the author of The Miracle Of Dialogue, told me that one of his most meaningful meditations is to imagine that the inhaling of air is the inhaling of light and the exhaling of air from his body is the exhaling of darkness. In doing this spiritual exercise, Dr. Howe said he was amazed one day to discover that he had exhaled the darkness out of himself while inhaling the light and that he felt that he had truly come to be a "little Christ" for God. God had cast out the darkness in him and was, therefore, making him an effective instrument. He didn't mean that he was a perfect instrument, or that he had no darkness in himself, but only that as he felt the light of God was taking over his life, he himself could shine more brightly in the world. That is a good story for all of us. We need to be breathing in the light of God and the life of God, and exhaling the darkness and the demonic powers within us. As we do so, we are not only happier and better integrated as persons, but more effective witnesses for God. We need vision to help others find the light of life. Imagine the possibilities.

Being in the dark, either physically or spiritually, is like being in prison. In the beautiful autobiography To Catch An Angel, Robert Russell describes that prison for those who are physically blind. In one of the most moving scenes he tells how after getting a PhD in literature he was unable to secure a teaching job because of his blindness and how going back to the workshop for the blind, though it was a blessing in some ways, was, in some ways, like going back to prison.

Worst of all was being reminded of the shame--not the shame of defeat, but the deep and insidious shame of blindness. Being forced back into the workshop was to be reminded all over again of my inadequacy, all over again to clench my fists in impotent rage, to feel all over again the hot tears scald my cheeks. It was this shame I had yearned to escape from while I was at the Institute, and which the system of segregation so tragically reinforced. It was this of which my life during the last ten years had been so blessedly free -- exorcised by friendship and love.

Escape it he did. This blind man learned to live on a river and even go fishing. He writes:

So that I can go out by myself whenever I please, I have run a wire down to the end of the dock, where I have mounted a large electric bell. Before I go down to the dock, I plug the line into an outlet in the house. A timing device permits the bell to ring only once every thirty seconds. If I row too far upwind to be able to hear the bell, I can still fish without anxiety because I can always drift downwind, and then I am again in touch with my base.

And a man needs a base to quest from, and he needs the sense that, however far he has strayed, return is still possible. Confidence that he has such a base is all that gives him the courage to reach past the edges of the familiar. It may be what he knows, what he believes, the table round, or heaven itself. The river lies before me, a constant invitation, a constant challenge, and my bell is the thread of sound along which I return.

To a quiet base.

Jesus came to free us from the prison of spiritual darkness and to use us to free others by leading them to the kingdom of light and life. We are called to be fishers of men. Imagine the possibilities.

In a society of specialists where we know more and more about less and less, we tend to lose sight of the bigger picture. People get engrossed in their work, or their schooling, or their families -- all good things, but not if they mean losing sight of God. This is the potential spiritual blindness described by Isaiah as "not paying attention."

One man has written:

Some people cannot see and do not behold.This is called blindness.Some people cannot see even though they behold.This is called physical sight.Some people see beyond what they behold.This is called vision.

(Anonymous)

God, give us vision that we may help others see, that our witness may be effective. Everyone can be an angel of light, no matter how old they are. Imagine the possibilities.

Victoria ("Torrie") Schlecht is four years old. I baptized her soon after she was born. At a communion service, I knelt down to bless Torrie, as we do for all the little children. As I made the sign of the cross on her forehead and said, "Remember, Jesus loves you very much," a light dawned behind her eyes, she smiled and suddenly put out her hand and made the sign of the cross on my forehead. A shiver ran up and down my spine.

I had been under a lot of tension, due to a move from Tucson, Arizona to Fountain Valley, California. A voice deep from within said silently, "Thanks, Torrie, my little angel of Light. I needed that."

There is a beautiful stanza in a folk song about light which puts it all together for me:

And Jesus said,I am the light of the world.You people come and follow me.If you follow in love,You'll learn the mysteryOf what you can do and you can be.

We are called to shine like lights in the world. We cannot do that unless we continually return to the Lord who is the light of the world. We must breathe in the light before we can exhale the light. We must go home, before we can go out. We must return to the quiet base before we can go out on the river of life.

We are called to pay attention and listen for the bell of God, tolling like a church bell in a quiet town, calling us to return home to God. Do not ask "for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for you."

Imagine the possibilities.

Questions For Reflection Or Discussion

1. What experiences have you had with light and darkness?

2. Have you ever seen a lighthouse in the dark on the sea? Describe it.

3. Have you ever been away from man-made light with only a flashlight to guide you? How did it feel?

4. As a child, were you ever lost? How did it feel?

5. What connections do your experiences have with Jesus' words, "I AM the light of the world"?

6. In what ways can we Christians be lights in the dark world for others?

CSS Publishing Company, THE GREAT I AM, by Ronald Lavin