Service on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/100064617886792/videos/1681621166146343 and YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n1-LcvP-mc
It is that time of year when we turn from the writings in the Old Testament from the Torah and the prophets to study our way through a gospel. We begin today in the gospel according to John.
Obviously the best way to start a sermon or speech is with… a history lesson and just… telling you information, but… there are some things I think we should know about this particular book.
For reasons of study and archeology, John has always been understood as the last gospel written, and today they date the writing of John somewhere between 75 and 90 and that the author, whose name we don’t actually know know, likely had Matthew, Mark, and Luke as sources.
Dated after the year 70 also means that it’s after the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem by Rome when Jewish communities and leaders were trying to figure out who they were going to be without a temple and their usual practices of worship. Also, what should they do with these new Jesus followers? Everything was confusing and scary, and it is generally believed that the Johanian community, as those for whom the first gospel was written for is called, had been removed from their synagogue.
Because of that, those kinds of struggles that were happening in the early church and Judaism at the time, there’s a lot in John that can be interpreted is anti-Jewish. And those who want to be anti-Semitic will find any reason to justify themselves. So it’s important as we read and interpret and think about and apply to our world today. The writings of the Gospel according to John that we do so with care and intention to the religious tradition that Jesus came from and continues to exist in the world today.
Also, the gospel uses metaphors to help readers understand Jesus and their world and this gospel is full of images of darkness and light representing evil and good, ways of the empire and the ways of God, empire of the world and the empire of God. And this metaphor has been complicated? ruined by us, people like us, throughout time who have taking this metaphor of life and applied it directly to skin color, making bad or evil anyone who’s skin color is dark… er… than mine. I want to name that as evil. Here’s the thing, I think the metaphor of “darkness” still works, it’s still in John, and I haven’t found a different metaphor that works as well. Though I’m looking and open to it. I just want us to be aware of the dialogue happening around it and that we ought to be careful of.
Our reading today is often titled and described as a prologue. The thing that comes before the actual story that sets everything up. Another scholar referred to it as the overture like in a musical where you hear all of the notes and the themes of what is to come, but it doesn’t really make sense until you get to the end, then start over again from the beginning.
At my book club meeting earlier this month, as we contemplated the end of the year, one of the women said, “Well, we survived this year,” and there was an audible groan across computers and phones from across the country because some days it feels like we just barely survived. And also, so many didn’t. We did mostly by luck of health, resources, skin color, nation of birth, or language.
We have known darkness. We have seen darkness. We have walked in and through darkness. We know what it is to stumble around, to not know where the next step will lead to, or what we are putting our foot down upon, if the path is good, sturdy, or a cliff. We have known cruelty of individuals and systems that bring abuse, that steal people away, that decide some lives are a suitable sacrifice for the powers to maintain their place and position. We know paralyzing anxiety for our loved ones, our children, going to school, for our health, the health of our neighbors. We know fear and grief and pain and confusion. We know that kind of darkness.
And there is a whole theology, a whole way of thinking about the world that it is controlled by a force of evil and that is why there is so much trouble in our world–a single entity that aims to bring trouble, to steal, kill, and destroy. And if that is the theology of the world one has… then the whole world is darkness and I would find it difficult to have hope. Because every bit of light, every spark of hope and love and compassion would be fighting against the very nature of the things.
When our gospel writer echoes the words from Genesis, we are invited to connect some dots. And when the gospel writer mentions the Word at creation, we are invited to go to Proverbs where the Word, Wisdom, Sofia, speaks of being with God at creation. And if that’s what was, if Christ was at creation, if all that was created was with and through Christ, … then the incarnation was not a moment of Jesus’ birth, but throughout all that is created. God the Christ came into the world in flesh living a fully human life revealed in Jesus AND God Christ came into the world through all that was created. There is in all of creation a bit of the creator, a divine spark.
And, Jesus came into the world, fully God, fully human, and lived life like we do. Laughed, joked, grieved, cried, raged. We have a God who experienced life and knows what it is to walk in this world–this Christ soaked word, beautiful and wondrous world, this difficult and disappointing world, this terrible and painful world.
The disciples asked their Rabbi:
“Rabbi, there is so much in this world that is evil and dark. Can you show us how to defeat the darkness?”
The Rabbi replied, “Yes. I will show you how to defeat the darkness. Come to my house when the sun begins to set.”
When the disciples arrived at the Rabbi’s house, he gave them each a broom.
“Go inside and sweep away the darkness,” he said.
The disciples went inside their Rabbi’s home and swept the floor with their brooms. Of course it didn’t work. They only wore themselves out sweeping at the shadows on the floor and, when they were finished, the house was even darker.
So the Rabbi handed them each a stick. “Beat the darkness with these sticks!”
So the disciples took the sticks and beat at the darkness in their Rabbi’s house. They yelled and cursed as they swung vigorously at the shadows in every corner. By the time they were finished, the house was pitch black.
Then the Rabbi handed each of the disciples a candle. First he lit his own. It cast a tiny light in the house. But then he lit each disciple’s candle, one by one. And as each candle was lit, the house grew brighter and brighter until the darkness was finally defeated.
Christ came into the world in and as Jesus to be a light, a hope in the world, to reveal what it looked like to fully live the Torah in a world that often tries to make it difficult to love, to care, to show kindness, empathy, community, that would be willing to live with less, willing to live with just enough so that others could have enough to live.
In a world that is overwhelming, in a world of empire, violence, in fear, in power, in control, Jesus came into this world as a light shining a way of the world that was centered on God’s love, love of God, love of neighbor.
And when we live in to that love, when we try to love the God, and our neighbors near and far as Christ walking on this difficult path like us, Christ walks with us still, lives in us, is then revealed in us through love.
John Wesley, the earliest Methodist, the founder of Methodism, wrote that we, humans, are always going onward toward perfection, we are being perfected, our goal is perfection. Which is terrifying and intimidating and probably where some people leave it, but it is all in love. We are perfected in love–by our acts of love we reveal a bit more of the perfect love of God, and as we love a little, we can love a little more and a little more. Are we ever going to love perfectly? Probably not, but the Christ in us is revealed in love.
The only way the darkness can be defeated is with light, the only way darkness can be defeated is with love.
So that we could see Christ in creation, so that we could see Christ in each other. We can see the spark of the love of God in each other. And that is a light in a world that can often seem dark.
One thing that exists in the world, the internet, are videos of people watching and responding to something for the first time, often it’s music that is outside of their typical genre or decade. But there are videos of people from outside of the United States watching clips Mr. Rogers, Mr. Fred Rogers, the patron saint of neighbors. It is consistent that those watching for the first time, usually adults, are in tears of comfort before they finish watching. A reminder how of such kindness and love is universal and universally needed. More than once he shared that his mother told him when things __ to look for the helpers. Even in the difficult time, in the hard times, in the dark times, you can find a helper, and when you find a helper you’ll see there is still hope.
Not to put words in Mr. Rogers’ mouth, though as a priest himself, I wonder if seeing the helpers is also seeing the love, and seeing the Christ revealed in love in the midst of trouble. Honestly, if you want to see what the results of being a helper, of God’s love revealed in a life, to where others found a helper, read the comment sections on any video with Mr. Rogers: stories receiving love and courage from Mr. Rogers while in abusive homes, of being little black kids and feeling safety and love that transcended time, space, and skin color, and children with disabilities who were told by Mr. Rogers every morning that they are unique and special and liked.
I think those videos and comments are people who see, even now, in Mr. Rogers the light of Christ revealed in how he loved. And what do you do when you’re in a difficult situation, but look for the light, the love and point to it, name it, be part of it. Mr. Rogers isn’t the light and love but his actions point to the one who is light and love. The commenters, and Mr. Rogers, like John the Baptizer, point to the light.
I think that’s what we’re called to do–to notice and point to the Christ we see in the world, the love, the light, the helpers to give ourselves, and others, hope in difficult times, trouble times, dark times. In times when we doubt the good, fear the what might be, grieve what has been lost, we look for the love.
And, as best as we can, we love. We reveal Christ’s love, we reveal that we live in Christ and Christ lives in us, that the incarnation, the indwelling of God can be shown still in love, in light, in being the helper.
Go Light Your World – Kathy Troccoli
There is a candle in every soul
Some brightly burning, some dark and cold
There is a Spirit who brings fire
Ignites a candle and makes His home
Carry your candle, run to the darkness
Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn
Hold out your candle for all to see it
Take your candle, and go light your world
Take your candle, and go light your world
There are hundred reasons to be terrified, to be fearful, to be anxious, The powers of this world wants us to live in a way that brings, or at least passively allows more stealing, more death, more destruction; The powers of this world will never understand the light, the love, but they can also not stop it. Look for the light. Point to it, protect it, nurture it, carry it, pass it on.