Living in the Light

Sermon on 1 John 1.1-12
In the name of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.

What a beautiful weekend! From frigid winter to hot summer almost overnight. As we enjoy the beauty of God’s Creation on this bright and glorious sunny weekend we may be tempted to give credit to the sun. We may conclude that the sun is the source of all this light and warmth and new life that we are witnessing. And it is true that the flowers and the green grass, and the warm air, the return of the migrant birds with all their songs, all of it relates to the return of the sun to its higher position in the sky. As the sun comes more directly overhead and we begin to come under its affect we can’t help but notice that life improves rather dramatically, but it is not the sun that is responsible for all this new life.

In ancient times, the pagans recognized the power of the sun and to a lesser extent, the moon. They thought that the sun was so spectacular that it must be a god traversing the sky. Zeus was riding his chariot across the heavens and the light and warmth we felt was simply the radiance of his glorious presence filtering down to earth. The Emperor Constantine was a sun worshipper—not a frequent sunbather, he actually worshipped the sun as deity before his conversion to Christianity. And it isn’t too hard to understand considering that when the sun is shining and is high in the sky the earth is warm, life takes on a renewed vitality but when the sun is hidden the world grows dark and dreary. Plants that live in the shade usually don’t thrive. Without the sun the landscape is gray and brown, the atmosphere is cold and all that has an emotional impact on us as well. Seasonal Affective Disorder seems to be a real medical diagnosis. A lack of sunlight during the winter months may cause depression and illness in some. Without the sun for extended periods of time we may experience vitamin deficiencies because sunlight is both a source of some vitamins and a means to help process others. So, it is natural enough to look at the beautiful light of day reflecting off of flowers and shrubs, to feel the warmth of the light on our heads and shoulders, and to attribute it all to the sun but the sun is not the source of light—God is.

The sun and moon are products of God’s very first creative action. In Genesis chapter 1, verses 2, 3, and 4 we are told, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.” What is the source of the glorious light we enjoy this morning? God—God is the source of the light. It is through him that the sun came to be. And, of course, God is not only the source of light in the natural world. God is, also and in a similar way, the source of light in the Spiritual world. He reveals his glory to us and through that self-revelation we know goodness, righteousness, truth, beauty, life and love. When we choose to live in God’s revealed glory we know all of those graces affecting our lives. That revealed glory has a name. God’s revealed glory is named is Jesus.

Jesus was with God before the earth and the sky. He was with him before God said, “Let there be light. And from the very beginning, even before there was a created world, God the Father, and God the son had designed you. They knew exactly what you would look like and what you would be like and when they saw you they said, “It is good.” You have been created because God wants to know you. You exist because God’s desire was to make you. And having made you he desires to have a relationship with you. He wants you to be one of his children. He wants you to be a member of his kingdom. And so, God has given you all the tools you need to live as a faithful child of God.

Let’s look at the last few verses of the reading from John’s letter. Let me paraphrase and amplify his words because he explains the “so what” of his words to us. He tells us why he is writing and he explains what he hopes to tell us that may help us in our day to day life. He seems to be saying, “I don’t want you to ever sin. Once a person begins sinning he starts walking down the dark road, the road opposed to God, away from God and apart from God. That road is the road to destruction for you and for your family, for your friends, and for your culture. Worst of all it means an end to your relationship with God. John says, ‘I don’t want you to ever sin because there are always negative consequences to doing the wrong thing. It is always a bad choice. It always puts up a barrier between you and God. Even in the smallest case. And I am writing these words to you in order to provide you with the means for avoiding sinning.

There is a way to know freedom from the bondage of sin and death. The road to destruction is not a road we are doomed to walk. The Lord has provided the means by which we can know holiness and righteousness, by which we can know freedom from addiction and have hope in the future, a means by which we can find fruitful and fulfilling lives even in the midst of great trials. And that means of hope and a future is not a self-help book. It is not a system for living. It isn’t a secret or membership in a mystical society. It is not a medicine or a mantra or a wise mentor.

The means of hope and a future has a name, Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Jesus is the glory of God revealed. He is the fullness of God’s revelation. In Jesus we know the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus is the light of the world—God with us—and he has provided us with a path to walk upon. On the road that he has provided we are able to walk into the great and glorious life God has ordained for us.’ That path is called faith—faith in Jesus Christ.

‘Please,’ John says, ‘do not sin, but if you do, if you are brought low during a moment of despair, if your courage fails you, if you forget your true source of strength, or ignore the witness of God’s power and authority, if anger overcomes you, or greed, or pride or laziness overpower you, if you fail and if you sin, never forget that there is someone who will step in to defend you. Although you will be alienated from God at that moment, there is one who will represent you before Almighty God. When God’s judgment falls upon you, when God calls you to account for your sin, when eternal life or eternal damnation are in the balance, Jesus Christ intervenes in your defense. He cannot fail, and he does not fail because He is perfect in righteousness. He has the Father’s ear because he is the Father’s beloved son. The Father will give him what he asks for because the Son has given everything the Father has asked of him. Jesus’ defense of you is not a legal argument or an emotional appeal. He does not whine or wheedle or cajole the Father into doing something apart from his will. Jesus’ successful defense of you is twofold: His own righteous act and you belonging to him. Jesus’ righteous act was to take your sins upon himself and to die for them. Your belonging to him is you having faith in him. Jesus agreed to pay the penalty for your failings. And he has already done it. He climbed up upon the cross and allowed himself to be killed in order that your sins may be acquitted by God. Jesus suffered in our place—and not just yours and mine but for everybody in the whole world.

So, John wants us to know that our wellbeing, both in the here and now and in the life to come, depends upon a friendly relationship. He calls it “walking in the light” but he means walking with God, under God’s grace, in the presence of God’s revealed glory. And Jesus is God’s revealed glory. Remember what Jesus said to St. Philip? Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father'? (John 14.9)

We are presented with an option—an either/or. Sometimes life is about both/and but that is not the case here. Here we can either walk in the light or we can walk in darkness. “There is no gray twilight between good and evil.” Actions speak louder than words in terms of what we believe—not what we pretend to believe but what we actually believe. If we choose to walk in the darkness, that is, if we choose to deny to power and authority of Jesus Christ in our lives, if we insist upon saying that he has left us defenseless against sin, then the truth is not in us and we get all that comes along with walking down the road to destruction. But if we choose to walk in the light, as Jesus is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” It is the difference between a bleak, cold and bleary winter day, when nothing thrives and everything lays dormant on the one hand and bright, warm sunshine, flowers blooming and plants growing and birds singing, on the other. We choose, and it is not just a one time decision. It is a million decisions. In fact every situation we face in life is another decision to walk in the light or the darkness. We can elect to trust Jesus and do the next right thing. We can choose to feed our pride, ambition, fears and anxieties. The choices we make determine the quality and character of our lives. The life of faith is not just about the big salvation issue it is also about the little, day to day, hour by hour, minute to minute issues. We decide to live by faith in Jesus Christ time after time after time.

John says, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live in the truth.” This is a real issue for all Christians at least occasionally. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All of us have moments of darkness. Some of us are suffering grave doubts and fears. We know that our faith should lift us up but sometimes our faith seems to fail us. Some of us have been dogged by addiction for years. Some of us are overcome by fits of anger or despair. For some of us darkness dogs us and yet we tend to deny it. We want to pretend that we are just fine, that our lives are lives of constant virtue. We put up a good front for the world. But John says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us and if we say we have not sinned, we make [God] a liar and his word is not in us.” But John tells us, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confession is the key. We think we can make it all better later on if we can just keep the facts hidden right now but God wants us to admit the facts right now so that he can make it better right now. If we confess our sins God forgives.

Doesn’t it look like we need to be attending to the issue of admitting our sins, acknowledging our brokenness and seeking restoration through the power of Jesus Christ? Sandy Millar, the Assisting Bishop of London says that when his parish started to admit their faults and to confess their brokenness that they started to grow up as a Christian Community. Christian maturity looks like being open about our failings. As long as we pretend that everything is just fine thank you, as long as we insist upon maintaining good Public Relations and making sure that we are marketing ourselves well to others we are destined to walk the road of destruction…because all those lies live and grow in the darkness. But when we begin to reveal the truth, when we start showing our wrinkles and our defects, admitting our faults and failures, then we begin to walk down the path of light and into the arms of a loving and forgiving God.

Jesus has paid the price. As long as we trust in him we do not need to fear God. In fact, honesty, openness, confessing the real circumstances of our lives to one another, this is the road of freedom and peace. Jesus has paid the price and through him we are able to live in the sunshine of God’s glorious grace. Amen.