Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. On the eve of 2016, I am not only preparing for the new year, but am also still celebrating Christmas. For many Christians, Christmas is a day, but for us, it is a season lasting 12 days from December 25th until the Epiphany on January 6th. Our tree is still up and our lights are still on as we continue to celebrate the light of Jesus coming into the world and into our lives.
At our Wednesday Bible study and Eucharist, we discussed the opening of John's Gospel and the light of Jesus which the darkness cannot overcome. Two questions arose: What is the light of Jesus, and is it in us because we are human or only if we believe in Jesus?
The light of Jesus is not overly easy to define, and that's a good thing. When we distill God down to simple definitions, we tend to end up with a fairly shallow view of God. "God is love" works well, but than again, what is more mysterious and deep than love? The light of Jesus is the very life of God which spoke all of creation into existence. The light of Jesus is Jesus himself, his ways, his teachings, his love of humanity, his love of God, his deep affection for all of creation. The light of Jesus is what Paul calls the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
The light of Jesus is all of these things. The light of Jesus is present whenever darkness and the works of darkness (misery, anger, suffering, hardness of heart, hate, non-forgiveness) are being cast out.
Is the light of Jesus in us only if we believe in Jesus? Again, this is difficult to know with certainty, but my belief is that the light of Jesus is within all of us. It is part of what makes of human, the image of God in which we were all made. Knowing Jesus and following in his ways brings that light to the forefront of our lives. The light of Jesus still shines in those who don't know Jesus - people made in the image of God, with the light which casts out darkness. We can recognize the light of Jesus wherever, whenever, and in whomever we see darkness and the works of darkness being cast out.
Our lives are meant to shine not only to bring the light of Jesus, but also to bear witness to the light of Jesus. Our human nature is not ours alone, but a nature which is intimately connected to the God who made us. His light shines in us.
The question arose during the Bible study as to whether we have light within us that is our own, or are we only good because God dwells within us. We cannot separate the two. Part of what it means to be human is to have God's light shining within us. That is our human nature. God's light is not separate from us, placed within us to fix us of our humanity. God's light is part of who we are, part of our make up. The light of Jesus is part of our true humanity. Through our lives, we seek not to overcome our humanity, but to live out our humanity in its fullness, with the light of Jesus, the image of God in which we were made, shining within us.
Merry Christmas.
Brad+
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