Sermons for the Month
Light in the Darkness
DATE: August 26th
By: John Maroni
TEXT: Matthew 5:14-16“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
As long as the days have been divided by the nights, comparisons have been made between light and darkness. The yin-yang symbol, most often associated with Taoism, is a circle perfectly divided; half black and half white. The yin-yang represents the existence of positive and negative forces in the universe. It represents the division of good and evil, of light and darkness. Light Resembles God's Spirit The idea of light verses darkness is introduced in the book of Genesis begins. " In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light, and there was light." God is in the energy business. He loves to provide light. In response to viewing a world encompassed by darkness and void of life, God divided the night with day, penetrating the darkness by creating the light. In college, my astronomy/physics class spent 6 weeks exploring the marvel of light. One of the amazing facts about light is that it cannot be seen\touched, yet because its presence, we can see each other, objects, color, etc. Light is the beauty and blessing of the universe. Of all the things created, light most resembles its creator in its purity, power and brightness. God cannot be seen\touched, yet he created all that is tangible. In the early verses of Genesis, God did more than bring physical life into the world. He took natural mankind (created from the earth/natural elements) and planted in each of us a supernatural soul. Genesis 1:7 reads, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." From dust we are created and to dust we will return. Apart from God, we are in a sense without form and void. Science and medicine can help our natural bodies. But only God, through His Son, gives us the breath of life that can sustain the spirit within. Jesus is the Light of the World Jesus was born at a time when the religious world was encompassed by darkness. In Hebrews 12, there is a description of Mount Zion, on which the pre-gospel church had been founded on the Law of Moses. Mt. Zion is seen as a dark place, set off limits to ordinary men and women. Even Moses himself said, "I exceedingly fear and quake." People could not communicate with God on a personal basis. The ark of the covenant was being transported to the city of David. It started to fall off the oxen and Uzzah reached out to prevent the ark from falling. Uzzah was struck dead for touching the ark. The common person only had access to God through the temple and high priest. In the Old Testament, God could not be seen or heard. Mankind stood in darkness searching for a way to commune with the creator. Jesus entered the world and announced, "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)." The church founded on the gospel would be a place the ordinary saint and sinner could boldly approach the throne of God. That's why multitudes of people followed Christ and absorbed to his every word. They were spiritually dead. The religion of their day left them feeling empty and incomplete. Then a bright shining light penetrated the darkness. And the common person was given the same opportunities to know God as the priests and scribes. In this life we cannot look at God, but we can look to Jesus who is the face and image of God. Moses asked to see God but was told, No man shall see God and live. However, God did grant Moses a single opportunity to see his backside. The light was so bright that the countenance of Moses was a bright glow. We can look at God today through his Son Jesus. Like the Sun (S_U_N) that provides light and life for our physical bodies and our natural world, Jesus the Son (S_O_N) provides enlightenment and sustenance for our souls. Apart from Christ we walk in darkness, with no direction, and absent of hope. But through the gospel of Christ, through the hearing of his Word, and by receiving the Sacraments, we are illuminated, our blinded eyes are open, and we walk with a purpose. We are given the hope that our soul will live for eternity. We are the Light of the World As recipients of the light of Christ we also have responsibilities. To whom much is given much is required. In Matthew 5, Jesus speaks to you and I, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a candle and put it under a bushel. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven. The primary purpose of the church is to maintain the purity of the gospel. Jesus said we are the salt of the earth. Salt is a preserver, and we must preserve the gospel in its original form. Along with preserving the gospel, we must hold it in plain view of all to see. Often a candle is symbolic of the Church. We have a gospel candle in the sanctuary. When the acolyte extinguishes the candles, they carry the flame into the sacristy. This symbolizes the church taking the gospel out into the world. Candles are not to be covered or hidden. This defeats the purpose. And so the gospel must be a flame within each of our hearts, taken to out into the world, and in plain view for all to see. That they may see your good deeds, not so that we receive glory, but that our Father in heaven be given praise. Fred Kaan How we allow the light of the gospel to shine through us varies from person to person. For Fred Kaan, author of our hymn "God! When Human Bonds Are Broken," he allowed the gospel to shine through his compositions and lyrics. He was born in 1929 in North Holland. The years of his early adolescence coincided with the Nazi occupation of Holland. His father was a member of the Dutch Resistance, and for two years the Kaan's sheltered a Jewish woman in their home, and later gave refuge to an escaped political prisoner. At the age of 26, Fred was called to be a minister of a Congregational Church in South Wales. Fred's hymn writing was born of necessity, out of the frustration of not finding what he wanted in the established hymnbook for next Sunday's worship, and out of eagerness to put into words those things which were close to his heart and conscience. His involvement in the ecumenical movement took him many places. Minister-Secretary of the International Congregational Council in Geneva, 1968 Executive Secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, 1970 Secretary of the Churches' Human Rights Forum, 1993-97 The editor of the United Methodist Hymnal, Carlton Young, has written "Fred's hymns invariably have social justice at their centre. They are cries, laments, and prophecies born in the Church's struggle to be faithful to the gospel." With his music and lyrics, Fred Kaan has been a light in a world of darkness1. Jars of Clay If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. We do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ our Lord and we his servants. For God commanded, "Let light shine out of darkness." And God has made his light shine in our hearts by giving us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have these treasures in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. II Corinthians 4:3-7 (paraphrased from KJ and NIV) We hold the treasure of gospel light in jars of clay or earthen vessels. As disciples of Christ we are weak and frail creatures. We are mortal and soon will be broken into pieces. But God has so ordered, that the weaker the vessel, the stronger his power may appear to be. For the gospel of Christ enlightens the mind, convicts the conscience, allows the heart to rejoice, gives rest to those who are weak and heavy laden; but all this power, this light that shines in the darkness, is from God and not from men. Our purpose is to be instruments of God's light. All things are done for the glory of God. Amen.
AMEN