Christmas’ Supporting Cast

Jesus: Light to a Dark World

John 1:1-14

 

Opening Words: Martin Luther once wrote, “The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding.” The great reformer lived five hundred years ago but those words are still true today. How many people do you know don’t really understand or appreciate the incarnation of God, the reason meaning of Christmas?

 

This evening we are instructed from the spiritual gospel, John. It was written about the year AD 60 by the apostle that carries his name. His purpose for writing this gospel was to introduce the Christian message to the Greek thinking world. The other three gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, were written to the Hebrew world. For that reason this gospel stands alone. The Greek world clearly understood this evening’s second gospel lesson. They understood that the light of which John spoke was God. In other words, God, literally, came into the world to illuminate her dark places. That is the Good News of Christmas! May God give you ears to hear the first fourteen verses of the Gospel of John.

 

John 1:1-14      In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. 14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

I love the story of the tightfisted old farmer, who lived before electricity. He was taking his hired man to task for carrying a lighted lantern when he went to call on his best girl. "Why," he exclaimed, "when I went a-courtin' I never carried one of them things. I always went in the dark." "Yes," the hired man said wryly," and look what you got!"

 

As we come here to observe Christmas Eve 2009 there seems to be a surplus of darkness in our world. I don’t remember a time in my life when there seems to be so many complex problems. Maybe the reason is I am a pastor and I talk about other people’s problems regularly. Or maybe the reason is our world has drifted off coarse. Just think of the dark stories that have grabbed the headlines over the past year. There was the dark story of a man named Kenneth Biros. (If you don’t know his story then ask one of the locals.) The economy remains to be dark. Did you know you have decided to spend this sacred evening in a place where unemployment or underemployment have become a way of life. The once proud city of Youngstown has an unemployment rate of 14%. In my hometown Warren, where everyone is a little smarter and a little better looking then everyone else, the unemployment rate is 15%. There are the dark stories out of Washington DC. They are dealing with the national health care crisis. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want everyone to have hospitalization. The problems are what will it cost and what will be covered? Can anyone tell me what our national debt is right now? How does it make you feel that China is financing our debt? There are the dark stories internationally. Has anyone here grown tired of The War on Terrorism? Does anyone here trust the leadership in Iran or North Korea? Do I have to go on or have you heard enough dark stories? I hate to say it. Ours is not the first generation to deal with the world’s darkness and ours will not be the last. Maybe that is why we celebrate Christmas annually? We have grown tired of the darkness of this world and long to live in the light!

 

Jesus has and always will be the light to our dark world. That is what makes the nativity so wonderful. We marvel at the role that Mary and Joseph played. We relate to the role the shepherds played. We hang on every word of the angel’s announcement. But it is the baby who grabbed the scene. Ponder this with me. When Mary looked into the face of her son for the very first time, she was looking at the very face of God. Let there be no doubt about it. On the day that Jesus was born our world changed. Why? Because for the very first time in our dark world had light. John says it clearly in verses four and five, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

 

This evening I not going to try to solve all the dark issues that are facing our world. I want to be more personal. I want you to live happier more fulfilled lives. That happens when you live the faith. So I want to take the next few minutes and remind you how Jesus illuminates our dark world. If you are with us every week then you know I pray the same prayer weekly before I preach. Perhaps, you can recite it with me. It all begins and ends with Jesus. It is because of Jesus that our past mistakes can be forgiven. It is because of Jesus that when we die we get to go to heaven. It is because of Jesus that our lives and have purpose and meaning today. If you can remember those words then you can remember the outline for this evening’s message. So if you are ready took at how Jesus illuminated our past, present and future say, “Amen!”

 

Past:     Jesus came to illuminate our dark past. Without Jesus there is no forgiveness. There is an old Spanish story about a father and son, who got into a horrible fight. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read:

 

Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you.

Your Father.

 

On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.

That simple story illustrates for us one simple point. Our world is in need of forgiveness. Sometimes we need to forgive someone else. Sometimes we need to forgive ourselves. Sometimes we need to be forgiven by God. Matthew 6:14 says, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” That is one of the things I love our the faith. We can receive divine forgiveness and get another chance at living a better life! Jesus illuminates our dark past. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

 

Present:     Jesus came to illuminate our dark present. In other words, Jesus told us how to live. The world tells the key to a happy life is making yourself the star of your life. You do that by accumulating possessions and getting a surplus of attention. There are a certain amount of logic to that philosophy. The only problem is it doesn’t work. Michael Jackson, Elvis Pressley and Anna Nicole Smith had more money and fame then they could handle. Do you consider their lives to be happy lives? Jesus said the key to living a happy life is making someone else the star in your life. I know we need a certain amount of money to survive and I know we all need a certain amount of attention. I know that Jesus’ key to a happy life doesn’t make logical sense but it is true. Research tells us that people who serve others live longer happier lives.

 

One week from today I am going to be two hours north of Moscow. I am going to Russia to be part of a volunteers in mission team. We are going to be in the city of Dmitrov. The population of that city is approximately 65,000. The weather when I last looked was seven below zero. We are going to live in the Renewal Orphanage, the home of seventy highly disabled children. We will sleep in a lumpy bed of an orphan. We will eat Russian food. (I hope they save me some of the goat soup!) We will play with children, who don’t speak our language. They are not always the best smelling children. They are not always the best looking children. Some of them have withered arms. Others have withered legs. Others have twisted spines. There is a wide collection of emotional and mental illness. Each child has a heart breaking story. Can I tell you the truth? I can’t wait to get there. I am tired of making me the star of my life. I am tired of my responsibilities. I am tired of talking about money. I am tired of worrying about apportionments or the Shared Ministry funds. I am tired of talking about programs. I am tired of fielding complaints, comments and well meant suggestions. To be completely honest, I get way too much attention. I am ready to make someone else the star of my life. Do you know what happens when I look at their problems? My problems and burdens disappear.

 

Years ago, the Salvation Army was holding their international convention. They wanted their founder, Gen. William Booth, to be their keynote speaker. The problem was Booth was old and weak. He couldn’t speak because he couldn’t go. So he wired the convention his speech. It was one word! (Don’t you wish you could hear a one word sermon?) The one word: "OTHERS."

 

In the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew we find the parable of the sheep and the goats. It is a parable about judgment. You know the story. The judgment will be like when the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. The point that Jesus is trying to make is the need for human compassion. We are to cloth the needy, feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty and visit the isolated. You are not just doing those things for them! You are not just doing those things for yourself. You are doing those things for Jesus! The forty verse says, “'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Jesus illuminates are dark present. He gives us the key to a content life. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”　

 

Future:     Jesus came to illuminate our dark future. Without Jesus there is no hope of heaven. In the fourteenth chapter of John, Jesus is trying to comfort the disciples. It is late in the storyline and the disciples are hearing for the first time that Jesus is going to leave them. He tells them that someday they are going to be reunited with him. Do you remember the second verse? It says, “In my father’s house are many rooms, if it were not so I would have told you.” That is one of the great promises of the Bible.

 

Maybe sitting under your Christmas tree at this moment is a video recorder? Technology has changed video recorders. They used to large and sat on the shoulder of the user to hold the picture still. Today, they are small enough to ride inside of your shirt pocket. They truly are amazing. However, it is one of those things in the world that I do not own. The reason is simple. I don’t want one. I know they are great. I know that they can be fun. The reason I don’t want one is time. If I had a video recorder I would have all those videos of Christmases from yesteryear. In those pictures my hair would darker and my children would be younger. That part does not bother me. What bothers me are the other people in pictures. I would have pictures of close family friends. I would have pictures of my grandparents. There would be pictures of my parents. Those people were and are important to me. They used to share my Christmas dinner with me but now they are gone. I do must better at life in the present or looking in the future then I do looking at the past. Maybe that is one of the reasons the faith speaks to me. The faith tells us our lost loved ones are in heaven. I am glad they are there but that doesn’t ease the loneliness I feel now. I miss them and I wish I could spend one more Christmas with them. Is there someone in your past that you miss this Christmas? When we die we get to go to heaven! But we don’t have to spend eternity alone. We will reunited with all those loved ones you are missing this Christmas. Jesus illuminates our future. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Let me end with this story.

 

I end with the story of Bob Edens. For 51 years he Bob was blind. His world was filled with darkness, sounds and smells. Then it happened. A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had sight. He was overwhelmed. He said, "I never would have dreamed that yellow is so...yellow. Red is so red. Purple is so purple.” he exclaimed. "I can see the shape of the moon and the vapor trail of a jet.” He said, “At night, I love to look at the light of the stars.“

 

How many people do you know are spiritually blind. Optometrists tell us that light is required to see. Your eyes can work perfectly but without light you can’t see a thing! The brightest light that has ever shined is Jesus, God incarnate. How bright is Christ’s light? It is bright enough to illuminate your dark past. There is forgiveness in Christ. It is bright enough to illuminate your dark present. The key to a happier more content life is serving others. It is bright enough to illuminate your dark future. Someday all of us of faith are going to heaven. The prayer is not wrong. It truly does all begin and end with Jesus, the light to our dark world. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!“