John 1:1-9
first ucc -carlisle
January 3, 2016
Light in the world
I’ve been thinking about color lately. Maybe it is because we have had some sun coming
through the clouds the last couple of days. Perhaps it is because we still have green lawns
around us, with no evidence of snow in recent days. It could just be that I am partial to crayons
and the variety of colors you can get with a pack of Crayola crayons. But I have been thinking
about the range of colors that can be seen.
For some people, they see life as black and white. While it could be literally true for
some people, I am speaking more in a figurative sense of the world. They can look out to the
people around them, the sights, the situations, and view things in black and white. I guess in
some ways it might be easy in only two colors. Whether we call them white and black, right
and wrong. And if we look at the world and choose to live in this world, then we need to think
about the colors that are around us, and what colors we choose to live.
I am not sure how each of us views the world when it comes to color. As for me, I am
not so sure that I see only two colors when it comes to what is happening in the world. Perhaps
I would say that there are not just two colors, dark and light, but a variety of shades of gray
when it comes to looking at the world. And for me, it is a matter of looking for the light in the
world, living in such a way that brings more light into the world. Let’s take this framework of
colors in the world a step further. I imagine we can envision, can see good things in the world.
Imagine the good things, the good persons, the beneficial actions, as light, as light colors.
Correspondingly, consider the bad actions, the bad situations, the evil people as dark, or
the absence of light. And I think it would be relatively easy for us to identify people around us,
people in our lives and in the world by color and light. I imagine we could identify some
clearly bad things in the world. Whether we were to look at history and come up with some bad
and dark people, and then some people who walked in the light. Can we agree that there are
such people in our history, and possibly in our society today? How would this be if we were to
determine a person’s life, actions and words by how much color, how much light was in them.
Light and color. I suspect that this would be a different way of looking at the world. I
might be hard for us to do this, as we might have tried before. But, given the Gospel scripture
reading for today, I think it is important that we take the time and look at the world through a
different lens. If people were willing, I could take a scholarly approach and begin to list what
makes the Gospel of John different from the other gospels. Some simple differences to note.
The first three gospels Matthew Mark and Luke are called the Synoptic gospels, as there are
some similarities amongst these accounts. Scholars identify that the ministry accounts of Jesus
found in Matthew Mark and Luke are based in one year increments of ministry, as seen in the
lectionary text schedule. The Gospel of John is found utilized throughout the three year
schedule of the lectionary. Gail O’Day (associate professor of theology at chandler school of
theology, at Emory university (GA)) talks of how short narrative units and sections of the
Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the Gospel of John combines narrative, dialogue and
conversation to create lengthy dramatic scenes. The synoptic Gospels have an occurring
sequence of spoken sections and actions of Jesus.
The Gospel of John has evidence action and miracles in its account, but the overwhelming
majority of the text of the Gospel of John are words spoken by Jesus. For instance, if one was
to look at the gospel of John, chapters 14-17 are the farewell discourse of Jesus, where he talks
throughout almost the entirety of that section of text.
There are other differences to consider: when the Gospel of John was actually written in
relation to the other gospels, who was the intended audience of John’s Gospel, and the account
of the beloved disciples are all unique aspects, but I like to leave those for now and return to the
issue of color and light.
The first few verses of this reading today from the Gospel of John, we can observe the
foundational perspective for the Gospel of John. In the beginning was the Word, and the word
was with God and the word was God. The other gospels ground the beginning of Jesus’ life in
the world, either through genealogy or a birth narrative (what about mark). The gospel of John
based the world on the presence of Christ from its inception. The word here is meant to identify
Jesus Christ. And in the beginning of the World Jesus was with God. The gospel of John first
point to the audience is the divinity of Jesus. The other Gospels speak about the entrance of
Jesus into the earthly realm, but John’s gospel reminds us of the divinity of Jesus, the power
that is within Jesus. There is a connection and relationship between god and Jesus, and it is
stressed in the first verses of this Gospel account.
From the description of the word being in the world Jesus, the passage moves on to discuss the
lie that Jesus offered to people. And within this life was light in the world. Jesus, the son of
God brought life into the world with his existence. And through his teaching, his actions, he
brought about light into the world, light for others to see and experience.
The light that Jesus brought into the world was meant for us. Now this light was not just meant
for us to reside in. It was meant to guide us, direct us as we live our lives. And we are called to
bring about more light in the world by our own actions, words, and lives.
As we talk about light and life, some people may consider the movie Star Wars, and the
force that is spoken of. I am not sure this is what was meant by the words of the gospel of John,
but there could be some parallels. But we do not have light sabers or jedis to guide us through
our lives. We have scripture, we have the life and ministry of Jesus, and the guidance of the
Holy Spirit to clarify our path in the world, bringing forth light and avoiding darkness. bringing
light into the world, to combat the darkness.
When we look at the world, we must also recognize that we are a part of the world, and
so we too contribute to the colors, the shades of light that are in the world. If there is a certain
amount of grayness around us, depending on what we choose to do may increase the light or
decrease the light. And I think while we are not responsible for the original light in the world,
we are stewards of the light and color in this world, figuratively speaking and we need to
consider our actions as we live forth into this place and this time.
For instance, what do we do when we enter into a situation where someone has made a
mistake? I would like to offer one that is the national arena. Are people familiar with the miss
universe pageant? The mc for the event was Steve Harvey – incident with miss universe
pageant. Are people familiar with this situation? So Steve Harvey was responsible for naming
the next miss universe. And he read who the next miss universe was to be, except he read the
card wrong, and named another person as the next miss universe.
And as the newly named miss universe was crowned and glorified, Steve harvey had to come
back and explain that he had read the card incorrectly and the actual winner was a completely
different candidate.
So there are a number of different ways to say it, but steve Harvey made a mistake. And one
might 2question what sort of darkness does his mistake bring into the world. I would suggest
that his action alone would not necessarily change the amount of light surrounding him and the
miss universe pageant, but other people’s responses might. How about the producers of the
show, depending on how angry they might become, and what they might say could bring a little
more darkness into the world. What about miss Colombia, who was the incorrectly called miss
universe. What about her feelings and actions, what light or darkness would they bring into the
world? Being angry at such a mistake that could bring about more grayer shades and even
darkness into the world. And demonstrating graciousness, either with the miss universe pageant
or other situations might bring more light.
Any mistake a person might make can call into question what sort of light will emerge
from the situation. When people reach for righteous indignation and anger, that brings more
clouds and darkness into the world. When people in destructive ways, it does not bring light
into the world.
And it’s not just mistakes. It can average ordinary events where people can react in such as to
darken the day, blacken the mood, and remove some light from the world. Whether it is the
greatest of crises, or the mundane, people acting and speaking with love and compassion clarify
the situation and the world, and bring more light to themselves and the people around them.
This is true for situations, for interactions, for work and home, school and travelling situations.
We have the potential for light within us. What are we doing about that in our lives?
I hope the gospel of John causes us to think about ourselves and our time in this world. I
pray it encourages us to think about the potential impact we all have, with our words, with our
attitudes, and our actions. Let us remember the word of the world of us Jesus, who brought
forth life and light for each of us. And may we incorporate that light into our lives, realizing we
have a part to play in this world. We are responsible stewards and we are called to put forth
light, in us and around us, and in our lives, and not to bring about more shades of gray or
darkness. Thanks be to God, the source of our light and life. And may the people of God say
amen.