John 1:1-18 – Called to Be Light in the Darkness

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Lectionary Readings for July 04, 2021                     Sixth Sunday After Pentecost, Year B
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10  David Anointed King of All Israel at Hebron
Psalm 48 v9 O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple.
2 Corinthians 12:2-10 v10 For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Mark 6:1-13    Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples to preach repentance and heal sick people 

But this week we’ll start a series exploring the book of John, beginning with Chapter 1.

Peace through Leadership Quotes

“Independence is happiness.”  ~ Susan B. Anthony (1820 – 1906)

“What then is freedom? The power to live as one wishes.”  ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC)

On this Independence Day, we recall how our DEpendance on God’s sustaining and guiding spirit give us peace in our own lives while also calling us to the ongoing work of helping others achieve and enjoy God’s transforming peace.

Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me.           God loves me.            God has plans for me.

Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading

This week kicks off a series in which we’ll journey through the Gospel of John. Why John? Recall that the lectionary is a three-year list of readings from the Bible for each Sunday. The early church selected these readings so that people attending church each week would hear the key sections that convey God’s grace-filled love for humanity and the history of our faith. (Click here to read more about the lectionary’s history.)

So why John? Because in the three-year-long lectionary cycle, John is only included a few times – most often at Christmas and Easter. But John is a wonderful story of God’s love told from John’s unique and mystical perspective – which I didn’t care for at all as a teenager but have come to appreciate.

John focuses on the signs (i.e., miracles) that Jesus performs as a way of conveying the theme of his book which is new life. Jesus’ signs point to the new life we can all enjoy through our relationship with God. For a relatively quick (faster than reading it!) overview of the Gospel of John, I highly encourage you to watch these two 8-minute-long videos: Part 1 (John 1-12) and Part 2 (John 13-21).

John opens his gospel, not with a birth story, but with a mystical retelling of the creation story (Genesis 1:1-5). First and foremost, John wants you to know that Jesus has always existed, was a key part of creation, and in human form continues God’s relationship with creation. Jesus Himself is a sign of God’s new life among us and a continuation of the Jewish history and faith.

As you listen, you might recall Proverbs 3:19, “By wisdom the Lord founded the earth; by understanding he created the heavens.” Or you may remember Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 v22 “The Lord formed me [wisdom] from the beginning, before he created anything else.” Hearing those words immediate makes me imagine Jesus as the expression of God’s wisdom, which is a new way for me to think about Jesus.

Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as Debbie shares today’s readings.

 

Read John 1:1-18. And please read the rest of Chapter 1 this week!

In the beginning, God created light in darkness.
2,000 years ago, God poured Himself into human flesh and became a source of light and life in a time and place dark with corruption, abuse, neglect, and suffering. There was nothing comfortable about Jesus’ life – he was born into poverty. Rather than focus on the material comforts he lacked, Jesus focused on and shared the joy of a profoundly personal relationship with God. Through His words and actions, Jesus was light in dark places. 

Through His words and actions, Jesus calls us to be that light, His presence, in today’s dark places. And Jesus was quite specific: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick, and visit the imprisoned (Matthew 25:31-40). These are all ways that we are called to be light in dark places. And yes, the work is never-ending... just like God’s love, just like God’s presence.

God calls us to hard work, AND God goes before us and with us.
Praise God for the opportunity to work with God while serving others!

And this is nothing new. Jesus may have had Isaiah 58:10-11 on His mind: “Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring.”

Today’s verses press us to ask questions that may make us uncomfortable.

  • How ARE we light for others?

  • How CAN we be light for others?

  • How can we be “full of unfailing love and faithfulness, full of grace and truth” to others?

These are NOT hypothetical or metaphorical questions. Both Isaiah and Jesus point out the immediate and practical issues confronting so many people in society – issues that surround us 2,000 years later.

Through our baptism – when we take our baptismal vows into the Christian faith and tradition, we commit ourselves to the WORK of building the Kingdom of God. Being the hands and feet of Jesus in our community means looking for and inserting ourselves into the dark, messy places in our community.

God calls us to hard work, AND God goes before us and with us.
Praise God for the opportunity to work with God while serving others!

As we strive to become more and more like Jesus – and I HOPE that’s your goal and your prayer! – perhaps we can share Jesus’ love for serving others. If this call to service seems too daunting, remember Jesus’ words of encouragement: “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works...” (John 14:12-13).

As we share our faith with others through word and actions, like Jesus, we too can be light in dark places. Like Jesus, we too can be signs of the new life God offers all humanity. This is what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. This is what it means to grow the Kingdom of God.

Amen? Amen!