Series: Seeing God More Clearly in 2020
Rev. Richard Fairchild tells the harrowing story of an event that occurred on Sunday afternoon, June 1st, 1975. A man named Darrel Dore was on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Suddenly the rig wobbled, tipped to one side, and crashed into the sea. Darrel was trapped inside a room on the rig.
As the rig sank deeper and deeper into the sea, the lights went out and the room began to fill with water. Thrashing about in the darkness, Darrel accidentally found a huge air bubble that was forming in the corner of the room. He thrust his head inside it.
Then a horrifying thought sent a shiver down his spine. He was buried alive. He began to pray—out loud—and as he did, something remarkable happened. He said later: “I found myself actually talking to Someone. Jesus was there with me. There was no illumination, nothing physical, but I sensed him, a comforting presence. He was real, he was there.” For the next 22 hours that Presence continued to comfort Darrel. But now the oxygen supply inside the bubble was giving out. Death was inevitable. It was just a matter of time. Then a remarkable thing happened. Darrel saw a tiny star of light shimmering in the pitch-black water. Was it real? Or after 22 hours was he beginning to hallucinate? Darrel squinted his eyes. The light grew brighter. He squinted again. He wasn’t hallucinating. The light was real. It was coming from a diver’s helmet. Someone had found him. His 22-hour nightmare was over. Rescue had come. He was saved. (1)
Our lesson today from Isaiah begins like this: “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you . . .”
Twelve days ago we celebrated Christmas. We celebrated the manger and the shepherds and Mary and Joseph and, most of all, we celebrated the babe in the manger. According to tradition, however, three of the men we usually include in our celebration of Christmas didn’t actually make it to the stable for that amazing event. These men—following a star that they had seen in the East—came sometime later when Mary and Joseph were in a house. Jesus is not even referred to as a babe in their story, but as a young child. But the important point is that these foreigners . . . and we don’t actually know that there were three of them . . . but these foreigners knelt down before this child and offered their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. This is the event we celebrate on the Day of Epiphany, the day when the Magi came and knelt down before the Christ child.
We are in a series of messages we have titled “Seeing God More Clearly in 2020.” It’s a little play on words, of course. But seeing God more clearly is what the season of Epiphany is all about. This is the Day of Epiphany, but it is only the first day of the season of Epiphany, a season in the church year that lasts until the beginning of Lent. The primary symbol of Epiphany is the star that led the Magi to the place where the Christ child lay.
The Bethlehem star is a vivid reminder to us that, with the coming of Christ, light has entered our dark world. John the Baptist in the wilderness quoted from Isaiah the prophet, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light . . .” That light is the light of Christ. John in the prologue to his Gospel put it this way:
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God . . .”
Light has entered our world. In a sense we can say that the two most significant events in the history of the universe were that time millions of years ago when God said, “Let there be light . . .” and two thousand years ago when God said, “Let there be Christ.” For without Christ all of creation is enveloped in spiritual darkness.
Travel writer Hugh Morris has an interesting online story about the Luxor Sky Beam. This beam of light—the strongest in the world—shines straight up from 39 xenon lamps on top of the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The Sky Beam has shone continuously into the Nevada sky since 1993. On a clear night, it is visible to aircraft 275 miles away.
But what is fascinating to me is that the Luxor Sky Beam, this brilliant light in the evening sky, which shines straight up into the sky from a Las Vegas casino has become a waypoint for pilots, a kind of GPS marker to serve as a backup to their highly sophisticated navigational tools as they make their way around the world.
Morris explains that the sophisticated technology at the center of modern aviation means planes basically fly themselves. And even when pilots are called upon to navigate, it’s mostly done by studying instruments and reading data.
But when the cockpit’s inhabitants are called upon to look out of their window, there exists a system that helps pilots to find their way from A to B using what are called “waypoints.” While most waypoints are mere GPS markers, some are real, actual geographical landmarks—like the Luxor Sky Beam in Las Vegas tower and the Carowinds Amusement Park near Charlotte Airport, North Carolina. (2)
Now we may not get all that excited about a beam of light in the night sky over “Sin City,” Nevada that serves as a waypoint for pilots. But I am excited about a solitary waypoint that points the way for all humanity to be saved. That waypoint is, of course, Christ. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it . . . The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
The Bethlehem star is a vivid reminder to us that with the coming of Christ, light has entered our dark world. Darkness, of course, is a symbol of sin and estrangement. It is a symbol of a world without Christ.
The sad nation of North Korea has been in the headlines in recent years. One writer has said that, if you want to really appreciate the contrast between darkness and light today, all you have to do is view nighttime satellite images of North and South Korea. South Korea is bathed in light, with its cities gleaming in the blackness, while North Korea, still primitive in so many ways, is dark.
But it’s more than just the lack of visible light that makes North Korea a place of darkness. The North Korean government is one of the most repressive governments on earth. Radio and television sets are hardwired to receive only government propaganda. In 2004, the government banned cell phones. North Koreans still have no access to the Internet—a source of information readily available in almost every other country.
There is another significant contrast between the two: the North is officially atheist—the last remaining “Stalinist” communist society. The South, on the other hand, has known Christian influence for more than a century. (3) In fact, one of the largest Christian churches in the world is in South Korea.
Of course our nation is one of the most brightly lit nations on earth. In and around all our biggest cities, it is almost impossible to see more than a few stars even on a clear night. You have to go out into the desert or high on a nearby mountain. That, too, is symbolic. The lights of the secular world almost overpower the light of God. But even if that were not true, we know that many people in our society live in darkness. They live without God in their lives.
Quite obviously it is our task to take the light of Christ to them. There is a time-honored story of a little girl who was shivering her way along a main street in one of our great cities. Seeing the beautiful lights of a church building and hearing the music coming from within, she went in and warmed herself as she listened. The preacher’s text was, “I am the light of the world.”
At the close of the service, the little girl went to the minister and said, “Mister, did you say you are the light of the world, sir?”
The minister replied, “No, young lady. Christ is the light of the world. I simply try to reflect his light.”
The little girl looked at him for a moment, and said, “Well, sir, I wish you would come down and hang out in our neighborhood, ’cause it’s awful dark down there!”
Followers of Jesus are, indeed, as the Master said, “the light of the world.” And we are to shine our light into all the dark neighborhoods of this world. (4)
Jesus is the light of God that gives life and vision. Without light, there is no life. In Genesis 1:3, the first thing God creates to fill the heavens and the earth is light. God didn’t have to create darkness. Darkness is simply the absence of light. Darkness has no power and no purpose, except to obscure what exists. Light has both power and purpose. Light can nourish, it can illuminate, it can provide power and warmth. And repeatedly, the Bible equates light with the presence of God.
Where there is light, there is life. Where there is God, there is life. Where there is God, there is both power and purpose. Light is essential for vision. You could be surrounded by dozens of different dangers and delights, but if you are sitting in darkness, then you would be ignorant of all of them. The light of God that came through Jesus Christ helps us see the world the way God sees it. This light is both a source of wisdom and of love. The Bible tells us that before we received salvation in Jesus Christ, we were spiritually dead and walking in darkness. Sounds like the opening to a great zombie movie. But what does John say in verse 9 of this Bible passage? “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.”
A customer service agent for a utility company in Rochester, New York, wrote about working during a horrible storm, when thousands of customers were without power and utility crews were working 16-hour days to repair the damage.
One customer called the customer service line and complained about the power outage, then stopped raging long enough to ask, “How will I know when my lights are back on?”
The customer service agent remained silent for a second, debating about the best way to answer such an obvious, even ridiculous question. How will you know when your lights are back on? Finally, she just said, “Um, it’ll be brighter than it is now.”
The customer hung up on her. (5)
You were made to live in the light. You know that’s true if you’ve ever had the power go off for a few hours. No one has to tell you when the lights come back on. Your eyes, your mind, your very being is instantly aware when even the tiniest sliver of light enters your darkness. In the same way, when you understand that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God, you have a new vision for a life that reflects the reality of God.
1. http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/b-ad04sm.php.
2. Hugh Morris, Aug. 24, 2017, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travel-truths/famous-waypoints-aviation-luxor-sky-beam/.
3. Charles R. Boatman, editor, The NIV Standard Lesson Commentary, 2009-2010 (Cincinnati: Standard Publishing, 2009), pg. 379.
4. Biblical Research Monthly.
5. “They’re Not The Brightest Bulb In The Box,” NotAlwaysRight.com, April 19, 2017, https://notalwaysright.com/tag/utility-company/page/2/.