This weekend, the children and
volunteers at our Vacation Bible School talked about how Jesus is the light of
the world. Jesus guides us when we are afraid and acts with sacrificial love
towards us. The Bible stories we learned about at VBS were the event when Jesus
calmed a storm while he and his friends were out on a boat, Jesus’ resurrection
from death to life, and Jesus’ miracle of healing a man of his blindness. We are going to read a portion of the latter
story. In the midst of this healing, Jesus said of himself: “While I am in the
world, I am the light of the world.”
Listen now to the word of God as it
is written in John chapter 9:
Scripture Reading John 9
As Jesus went
along, he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples
asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this
man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that
the works of God might be displayed in him.
As long as it
is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no
one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the
world.”
After saying
this, Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it
on the man’s eyes.
“Go,” he
told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So
the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
His neighbors
and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who
used to sit and beg?”
Some claimed
that he was.
Others said,
“No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself
insisted, “I am the man.”
“How then were
your eyes opened?” they asked.
He replied,
“The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go
to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
“Where is this
man?” they asked him.
“I don’t
know,” he said.
Jesus heard
that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you
believe in the Son of Man?”
“Who is he,
sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
Jesus
said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
Then the man
said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
Jesus
said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the
blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
Some Pharisees
who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
Jesus
said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you
claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Here ends this reading of the word of God
for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Message Jesus, the Light of the World
The Oxford English Dictionary has
three definitions for the word “light.”
·
Light is the natural agent that
stimulates sight and makes things visible. We see where we are going and don’t
bump into as many things because light makes them visible.
·
The second definition says
light is “an expression in someone’s eyes indicating a particular emotion or
mood.” When we say, “the grandmother’s eyes light up when she talks of her
grandson,” this is the kind of light we mean. It is when our eyes show joy and
pleasure and pride.
·
And, the final definition of
light is when a person comes to solve a problem or a mystery, when they
experience “en-light-en-ment.” We talk about this when we say we see the light
“dawning” on someone’s face, when they solve a riddle or a crime.
Jesus is the light of the world. And, when it comes to these
definitions of light, Jesus is the light all three ways.
How does Jesus make things visible? When Jesus came to earth in
the 1st century, the world at the time was in crisis. Many people
had been conquered by the Roman Empire. People were coming into contact with
new ideas, visitors from other lands, and oppressive government leaders.
In the midst of a world of uncertainty, Jesus was born. And, for
a people who were grappling with how to be faithful to God in a changing world,
Jesus preached a message of love, inclusion, care for the weak, and peace.
Jesus “shed light” on what God wanted the people to do, how God wanted the
people to believe, and how God wanted the people to practice their faith. Jesus
also expanded the Christian message – all people were welcome to have a
relationship with God, not just those people born into Judaism. Jesus’ message
is for all of the people of the world.
Jesus made the truth visible to people who wanted to know about the
divine, who wanted to know how to worship, who wanted to know they are not
alone and there is more to life than what we can experience in our daily lives.
Jesus made “the holy” visible to people who were searching for the truth.
The third definition of light is when a mystery is solved. People
are in search of the holy. We want to know that we are not alone on this little
planet, hanging out in the middle of the Milky Way. When we come to have a
relationship with Jesus and with God, we see the “light.” We know that we are
not alone.
The German Reformed church, our predecessor church, had their
young people memorize a little book about what their church believed, called a
catechism. The first question in that book asks, “What is your only comfort in
life and in death?” And, the answer is: “That I am not my own, but
belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ”
We are not alone….we are not alone in this world, but we belong to Jesus
Christ. The answer is longer than this
first sentence, and it later says, “Jesus watches over me in such a say that
not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven.”
Nothing we do is hidden from God. Nothing we experience is unimportant from God.
No mistake we make is unforgiveable by God. With our faith in Jesus, and in
God, we are enlightened to the truth. Jesus
is the light of the world, and though Jesus’ teachings, we learn about God.
The second definition
of light is the special expression a person gets in their eyes when we are full
of joy. Jesus taught us the greatest commandment from God is for us to love God
and for us to love each other. God loves us. We can imagine God’s eyes lighting
up when God sees us, and our eyes lighting up when we see God. Jesus’ words
echo to us through the centuries: “For God so loved the world that God gave
God’s one and only Son, that whoever believes in God shall not perish but have
eternal life. For God did not send God’s Son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through him.”
We are God’s precious human children, and God delights in us. God’s eyes
light up when God sees us, and God appreciates us.
In the story we read from the scripture today, Jesus heals a
blind man so that he can see. Sometimes,
even when we can see things, we don’t understand them. When the formerly blind
man’s neighbors saw him after his healing, they had trouble recognizing him
because he wasn’t what they expected, he wasn’t just the blind man begging
beside a pool. And, then when the formerly blind man told them what had
happened, that a man came and healed him, they had an argument about Jesus –
about who Jesus was and who Jesus’ represented. But, things were simple for the
once blind man – he was always blind, but now he could see. He was blessing
with sight. And this miracle came from God and came from a man of God.
Part of our work is to
see what is before us. We are called to notice the world around us. We are
called to see the people we encounter – not just in a superficial way, but
really take note of the people around us. Often, we can see on people’s faces
and see in their eyes that they are hurting. They are lonely. They are sad.
Part of our work is to share the “light of Christ” with others….to tell them
they are not alone, God is with us. To tell them about Jesus and his love. To
invite them to church and to experience the support and care we offer each
other as a response to our faith in God. Our work is to help bring the Light of
Jesus to others, because we know our lives are enriched by our faith, and we
want others to experience the joy we have in knowing that we are God’s precious
children, and we are not on our own in life, because God is with us.
May we work to tell others about Jesus the light of the world.
Amen.
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