Let There Be Light

John 1:3-5

Introduction

Last week, we saw that John is describing the appearing of Jesus very much in the context of Genesis 1 and creation. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In the beginning the Word was with God and the Word was God. All of this reshapes how we see the birth of Jesus, seeing this as much more than just the birth of another baby. Jesus was involved in creation and he is also involved in re-creation.

Going back to Genesis and creation, what was the first thing that God created? “Let there be light.” Before anything else could happen, there had to be light. Genesis even describes light as coming before the sun, moon, and stars. This is a special light that finds its origins in God.

It is not surprising that the image of light is closely tied to that of Christmas. Christmas lights are very popular, being used to decorate homes and Christmas trees. Part of this comes from a tradition of having actual candles in indoor Christmas trees. They looked nice but were not the safest. It seems when it comes to Christmas decorating, for many, the more lights, the better. We want to say, “Let there be light.” Interestingly, when we celebrate Christmas is very close to the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. By the time we get to December 21, we are really getting sick of the shorter days and we are ready for them to start and lengthen again. While it’s unlikely that Jesus was born in December, we can see why there would be a draw for us to celebrate light when the days are at their darkest.

So what does this have to do with Jesus? Why did John and why do we still connect Jesus with light? These are important questions. While the star that appeared over Bethlehem is part of the imagery, it is actually much more than that.

Jesus as Light

The connecting of Jesus to light is a common theme. Matthew sees Jesus as the fulfilment of a prophecy by Isaiah:

“Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,

    the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,

    Galilee of the Gentiles— 

the people living in darkness

    have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

    a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:15-16)

Notice the contrast between light and darkness. Light is most often noticed n the context of darkness. For example, we see many more stars here at night than we did when we lived in big cities that brightened the sky even at night. What Isaiah and Matthew are saying is that there is a darkness, a spiritual darkness. It is a time that is in desperate need of light. Isaiah promises that light is coming and Matthew is explaining that the light has come with Jesus.

One of the reasons that Jesus came into the world was to bring light. As was said in the beginning, so was said once again, “Let there be light.” Elsewhere in John, Jesus says: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

Jesus both brings the light and is the light. Once again, the purpose of the light is to fill the darkness. What is the darkness that Jesus came to destroy? It is the same darkness that has been around for all of human history. It is injustice, it is greed, it is hate, it is oppression.

John closely ties the light that Jesus brings with his life-bringing power. Jesus is the light-giver because he is the life-giver. The message that Jesus preached was that of eternal life. This is not just heaven when we die but a quality of life that we can experience now. Life against death. Light against darkness. This is why Jesus came to this world. This is why we have Christmas.

The Church as Light

And yet there is still death and there is still darkness. It’s a fair question to ask: Is today’s world just as dark as before Jesus was born? What has changed and in what way has light come into the world? 

Jesus said that he is the light of the world. He also said something else. Jesus said, speaking to his followers, “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14) How can that be? Is Jesus the light of the world or are we?

A great analogy is that of the sun and the moon. There are times when the moon is full that it is very bright at night, especially during the winter. I love the look of a moonbeam coming through the window during the night. But as bright as the moon is, if we travelled to the moon, we would immediately notice that the moon does not generate any light of its own. The moon is simply a reflector of the sun’s light. In many ways, that is the role of the church. We actually don’t have much light of our own to share. But we can reflect the light of Jesus, who is the ultimate light of the world. How do we do that?

Being the light of the world means reflecting the values that Jesus emphasized in his ministry. Being the light of the world means reflecting the self-sacrificial love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross. Being the light of the world means looking for the parts of our world that are the darkest and attempting to bring a little light to it. 

The danger is that we would get so discouraged by how deep the darkness is that we don’t want to even try and shine some light. I think that is why John brings us back to creation. What does Jesus do? John wants us to think of the first burst of light when God spoke light into existence. That is the kind of light that is at work in the church. 

It is true that darkness is really dark. But the light of the world that we get to reflect is really, really bright.

Conclusion

Christmas is a time when many people like to light up their neighbourhood. They put lights on their house, they wrap lights around their Christmas tree. There are people who live for the challenge of making their space as bright as possible. 

While that may or may not be your tradition, Christmas is about light. Christmas is about God seeing planet Earth in all its darkness and sending the light-bringer. The speaking of “Let there be light” is having an encore presentation. Jesus is the light of the world. That does not mean that all the darkness has disappeared but it does mean that the darkness cannot win. Jesus calls us to shine his light, to be the light of the world in the corner of creation that God has put us. Lighting up our neighbourhood is much more than plugging in some Christmas lights. It is about being dedicated Jesus followers, living out his values, and letting that light do its work in this present darkness.