Darkness Does Not Dim the Light...Neglect Does

Brad Sullivan

Christmas Eve, Year C

December 27, 2015

Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Bay City, TX

John 1:1-18

When Jesus was born, it was likely a tough year.  Herod was king over Israel.  While he had not yet committed the mass murder of infants and toddlers, such a heart still dwelled within that man who was king.  It couldn’t have been great with him as monarch.  Rome still ruled over Israel with their taxes and contempt for the people of Israel.  Darkness was everywhere, and into that darkness came the light of Jesus.  With all of the bad, we still hear the story of a single baby being born.

We’re told that on the night of Jesus’ birth, Mary pondered what was meant that Jesus is the Messiah, the Lord.  John, in his Gospel, seeks to answer those questions.  Jesus brought life into being and that life is the light of all people.  As Jesus came among us, the true light was coming into the world, full of grace and truth.  The light of Jesus shone in the darkness of the world, and the darkness did not overcome it.

There was plenty of darkness after Jesus was born.  Less than two years after Jesus was born, King Herod went on his killing spree, murdering infants and toddlers, and so Mary and Joseph had to flee Israel and go to Egypt, not an easy trip with a toddler, less so when you are fleeing the threat of death.  Then, as word came that Herod had been successful in his mass killing of infants and toddlers, and Mary and Joseph knew it was because he had wanted to kill Jesus, those deaths must have pierced their souls.  They knew some of the children Herod had killed, knew their parents; Jesus had been playing with some of them, would have grown up together.  The darkness began to overwhelm Mary and Joseph.  Then they looked at Jesus and the saw the light of God piercing the darkness of the world.  They saw how special he was, saw God’s grace and truth already manifest in him.  They looked at Jesus and knew that it all was worth it and all would be well, even for the slaughtered innocents.  The light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.

By all accounts, it has been a tough year for us too.  We haven’t had any state sanctioned mass killings of infants and toddlers, but we have had plenty of mass killings.  The economy has declined in Texas with the decline of oil prices.  We are still involved in multiple wars in the Middle East.  Politicians and presidential candidates sound not like statesmen, but like middle schoolers arguing in the lunchroom (no offense intended to our middle schoolers).  Many of these politicians seem to want to use the darkness to increase peoples’ fear, so that we’ll vote for them as the solution to the darkness.

There certainly is more than enough darkness to be overcome by, but we look not to politicians, but to Jesus.  We look to Jesus and see his light, full of grace and truth, and the darkness of the world recedes.  We don’t ignore or tune out the problems of our lives and our world when we look to Jesus, we get a lamp filled with his light so we can make our way through the darkness without shame or fear.

The thing about darkness is, it seems oppressive and vast, threatening to drown everyone in a flood.  Darkness seems that way, but it is held back and cast out by even the smallest light.  We carry the light of Jesus with us to light our way through the darkness.  We carry the light of Jesus with us to light the way for others.

The thing about light is, darkness does not extinguish the light.  There may be far greater darkness than light, but no matter how vast the darkness, it cannot extinguish the light.  Only neglect can do that.  Fires don’t go out because it becomes too dark around the fire.  Fires go out when they are left untended.  Darkness does not extinguish the light of Jesus in our lives or in the world.  Only our neglect of our faith can dim the light of the Gospel in the lamps we carry.

When we neglect the Gospel, the light of Jesus dims within us.  When we neglect our faith, the light of Jesus dims within us.  When we neglect of spending time in the presence of God, dwelling in his love, hope, and peace, then the light of Jesus dims within us.  When the light of Jesus dims within us, then the light of Jesus dims within the world.

On Christmas Eve, I said that like Mary, we are God bearers, bringing the story of Jesus with us, bringing faith in Jesus with us to share with others.  So many need to hear the story, need to witness faith in Jesus.  We are meant to be God bearers for them.

We are also light bearers, carrying with us the light of Jesus to shine in the darkness for others.  To do this, we have to tend the flames.  If we neglect the fire of the Gospel, then it will still burn within us, but it can become too dim for people to notice, and people need to notice.  With the darkness in the world, people need the light of Jesus.  We need the light of Jesus.

And what is the light of Jesus, the grace and truth which the darkness cannot overcome?  The way of choosing vulnerability over power, the way of choosing love over anger and pride, the way of choosing forgiveness and reconciliation over righteousness and revenge, the way of walking and dwelling with God.  These are the ways of Jesus, the way of the light.

Jesus showed us a new way of being, but he did not just come to give us a new law.  The light of Jesus itself is simply Jesus.  The light of Jesus is not only a way, but a person, the Word of God which spoke creation into existence, the Word of God which became human, uniting us all forever to God in perfect unity.  God became human in Jesus, showing us what it is to be truly and fully human.  The light of Jesus burns within us, within our true humanity, and the darkness within us cannot overcome it.  Amen.