Jesu Juva

“The Light no Darkness can Overcome”

Text: John 1:1-18 (Exodus 40:17-21, 34-38; Titus 3:4-7)

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In the beginning, when the Word of God created the heavens and the earth, there was night but there was no darkness. For in the beginning the earth was full of the knowledge of the Lord and in Him there is no darkness at all. The darkness came when Adam and Eve decided they wanted to know something besides God, and so partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And from the moment they did, the darkness descended. And if in the Lord there is no darkness at all, outside of Him there is only darkness. A deep and frightening darkness. The kind of darkness that not only takes away your sight, but that you can feel.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Therefore, when the darkness came, something else came with it - death. When Adam and Eve decided they wanted to know something besides God and put themselves outside of Him and His light, they also put themselves outside of His life. And so they would die.

That is the reality of sin, John wants you to know. Sin is not fun, it is not harmless, it is not just being naughty - it is darkness and death. It is to be outside of God and His life.

But then John makes the remarkable statement: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. It may have seemed like the darkness had overcome the light to Adam and Eve, and it sometimes may seem that way to us when we see the devastation of sin and hate and evil and death in our world today, the wars and troubles, and the vileness that comes from our own hearts. But no, the life and light of God continues to shine in the darkness, and today He shines from a manger bed. For the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word of God has come into the darkness of our sin and death with His life and light, to scatter the darkness.

This is not the first time that the Word and light of God has dwelt among us, to scatter the darkness of sin and give His people hope. God gave the light of His Word of promise to Adam and Eve. He dwelt with the people of Israel in the tabernacle. But today is different, for today the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. It was an occasion so momentous that God sent His angels to tell the shepherds, He sent His star to lead the wise men, and He sent John the Baptist to bear witness to this light, that all might believe. Because it sounds too good to be true. That God would not only come and be with us, but that God would come and become one of us. To undo what Adam and Eve did when they put themselves outside of Him and His life and light. He came to take us back into Himself.

And this He does - and He did for you, as Paul told Titus - through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit; through Holy Baptism. That is why the early church often referred to baptism as illumination. Not because baptism turns the light on and shows us the way to go, but because baptism puts us into Jesus, the Word made flesh, and in Jesus we are in God once again - back in His life and light. Back where we belong. Where there is night but no darkness. Where there is death but no loss of life.

And so the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And He dwelt among us to die for us. To fulfill all the sacrifices of the tabernacle; to be the sacrifice for the sin of the world. The manger without the cross is just a cute story. The cross without the manger is just a sad story. But the Word that became flesh and lay in the manger in order to ascend the cross and atone for the sin of the world is the Gospel. For there, on the cross, we see his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. The truth of our sin and its horrible consequences, but even more, the glory of the grace of God, who came to save us from our sins.

And because He has, from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. Not just a little grace, but heaps of grace; an abundance of grace. Grace that shines upon us in our darkness, in our shame, in our shortcomings, in the habits we can’t break, in those times when we’ve said something we wish we could take back, in our weakness, in our confusion, in our pain, in all our stupid mistakes. That light of grace shines upon you today from this altar, where in a manger of bread and wine lays the Body and Blood of Jesus, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins. And the darkness is scattered once more by His life and light. The light no darkness can overcome. The life that death cannot overcome.

This glory has come to you and now goes with you wherever you go. Israel had its tabernacle, but you have what is even better - a brother. A blood brother, who will not leave you or forsake you. Ever. And not a bossy brother, who just tells you what to do, but one who stands shoulder-to-shoulder with you to fulfill what you are unable to do. To fulfill all the law given through Moses, not just that He get the credit, but that you do. A brother to tell you all those things you need to know; to make known to you, once again, the Father. For He is all we need to know.

For today, in Jesus, what was was lost is restored; what was fallen is raised; what has died is given life again. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

In the Name of the Father and of the (+) Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.