Where do you see darkness in our culture? As Christians, you will notice how we are not so much living in an immoral culture as an amoral culture. The difference is that in an immoral culture, people know right from wrong, but they choose to do what’s wrong. In an amoral culture, people don’t know what is right or wrong, so they gleefully choose what feels good based on their sinful nature.
We are living in a culture that welcomes the darkness. They don’t know any better. They’ve lived in the shadows so long they are afraid of the light. And they want us Christians to not only tolerate their amoral behavior, we must also accept and promote it. They want to drag us into the darkness.
Our Old Testament lesson for this Sunday promises that Christ will come to be the Great Light that shines in the darkness. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. For those living in the land of the shadow of death, the light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2).
In our hymn for this week, we pray that we walk in the Light. We want to follow Jesus. Verse one: I want to walk as a child of the light. I want to follow Jesus. God set the stars to give light to the world. The star of my life is Jesus.
How have you experienced darkness in your life? Perhaps it is constant pain, depression, or desperation. Or maybe it is the loss of a family member or a close friend. Maybe it is the break-up of your marriage or your family. This darkness is felt in the hearts of the elderly abandoned in the nursing homes. This darkness is experienced by children living in broken homes. This darkness is suffered by parents who lose their child to drugs or cancer or death. This darkness is endured by all of us as we live in a broken and desperate world. Walk out of the darkness by following the Light. The Bible encourages: “You were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). This Light entered the darkness of our world in the person of Jesus Christ. St. John wrote of Jesus, “The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
Verse two: I want to see the brightness of God. I want to look at Jesus. Clear Sun of Righteousness, shine on my path, and show me the way to the Father.
God did not leave the earth wrapped in darkness. He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light that pushed against the darkness (Genesis 1:3). Nor did God abandon his children to sin’s darkness, either. Since the darkness is not disappearing, our Savior Jesus stepped into the darkness. “[God] has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13,14). Now that we have been rescued from this darkness and brought into the Light of Christ, we need to keep following the Light. Jesus teaches, “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).
Verse three: I’m looking for the coming of Christ. I want to be with Jesus. When we have run with patience the race, we shall know the joy of Jesus.
Our world is filled with darkness. There are all kind of monsters who wish to prey on the innocent. There are plenty of scary things that fill the nightly news. Our world seems to get creepier and weirder, darker and scarier all the time. But we don’t need to be afraid. Jesus is here with us. He has entered our darkness to shine the light of his salvation. He places his hand around ours to rescue us by moving us through the darkness into his wonderful light. He is the Savior who was born for us, lived among us, suffered our punishment, and died our death. The risen and ever-living Christ is present to listen to our prayers, protect us from the monsters, scare away the scary things, crush the creepy things, and direct us through any darkness the devil, death, or this world can produce.
Yes, I know, the evening news still says there is a lot of darkness in the world. That cannot be denied. But the angels lighting up the night sky, the star leading the Wise Men during their evening travels, Jesus praying for us in dark Gethsemane, Calvary’s cross standing tall in the darkness of midday, and the tomb opening at the break of daylight – all these events proclaim that there is a Light in the world. And where the Light is present, darkness cannot remain.
The refrain of our hymn: In him there is no darkness at all. The night and the day are both alike. The Lamb is the light of the city of God. Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.