John 1:1-14

Christmas Day Sermon | 25.12.22 | John 1:1-14 | Evan McClanahan |

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” Perhaps there is no more beautiful or hopeful single verse in all of scripture than John 1:5. The darkness is easy to see; it does indeed surround us. Systems break down. Friends die. Cancer is diagnosed. Crime levels rise. God is mocked.

And yet, that darkness is nothing new, and the Christian proclaims against all odds, that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not, does not, and will not win.

But what, really, is the light? A good feeling? A sweet sentiment? A warm nostalgia? A figure of speech? For example, I am reminded of a fabulous quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” It’s a great line…but what do we do with it?

What, really, is the light? John defines it in the verse before. “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” John seems to be saying that Jesus brought all things into being. He is the author of all life. And the life he created is the light.

But even more than being the author of life, he is the restorer of life. For Jesus experienced the full penalty for sin, death itself, and was raised from the dead. So Jesus, through his resurrection, stands as a testament to the eternal promise of life’s triumph over death.

So no, the light is not a mere sentiment. It is not just a warm, fuzzy idea to get you through a tough day. Indeed, sentiment without content, nostalgia without substance, is a danger to the church and has weakened our message. This light is life, and it is the whole of the Christian’s vocation to notice, protect, and proclaim the message of life. Yes, we we promote life in the midst of the culture of death.

So often I am dismayed and even driven to despair by our culture’s acceptance and celebration of the culture of death. We think nothing of promoting outright promiscuity on one hand and abortion on the other. Popular culture and luxury advertising openly promote Satanic imagery. In Canada – and hopefully this stays north of the border – be careful what you say to your doctor. Assisted suicide is going mainstream and the government is apparently not shy in reminding you of its availability. And while removing certain body parts makes the act of reproduction impossible, to speak against such surgeries is considered hate speech. A Norwegian woman is currently facing three years in prison for tweeting that men cannot be mothers.

Hey, I know, such heavy fodder for a Christmas Day sermon! Well, John is talking about a light in the darkness, a light that looks as though it might soon be extinguished. But it won’t be. In fact, the joke is on death. Death is suicidal by nature. Eventually the light breaks through. The darkness can’t survive because it only lives to destroy.

Every Christian finds himself in the midst of this spiritual battle. And while the forces of darkness and light are not equal, and we know that at the return of Jesus the darkness will be vanquished once and for all, this remains a battle we cannot deny and we must engage.

So for all of us, as individual followers of Jesus, we must consider what the light looks like in our own lives. It is fighting against the darkness in our own lives, avoiding temptation, being accountable for our sins, repenting, and receiving forgiveness. The light shines through us when the darkness does not personally defeat us.

As members of a community, we bring the light into a dark world. Through service and care organizations like the Christian Community Service Center we help those in need. When we do outreach to college students, we are offering them an alternative to a dark world.

In our political engagement, with whatever side you can defensibly participate in as a Christian, we should be bringing light to the world. We fight for truth and justice in the midst of that very messy process. Yes, being light often means getting dirty. It rarely allows you to stay above the fray. And legal, political, and community activism is definitely a place the light needs to shine.

In our places of work, we are light. We run our business or work with character and ethics. Employees are treated fairly and paid a good wage. We don’t do the minimum we can get away with, but we always put our best foot forward. If we see corruption or falsehood, we call it out.

In our parenting, we teach our children to love the truth above all. To bear the costs of being honest. To treat classmates with compassion. To work hard and be a benefit to the world, always giving, rarely taking.

It sounds like basic, common sense. To you! Because you are a Christian, and one who dared come to church on Christmas Day, no less. But it is not common sense to a dark world. It is strange. And foreign.

So we must never stop pointing to the light. We must model it in our lives. We must speak to it with our mouths. We keep inviting those surrounded by darkness to hear about the light. And eventually, one of two things will happen. The darkness will envelop those who embrace it. Or they will leave the darkness for the light. They will finally see all of the tentacles of the culture of death for what they are, and escape to Jesus, who brings life itself.

May God have mercy on this dark world, that while we wait for Jesus to come again, the darkness will not overcome us, but rather, we can shine the light in every area of life. Amen.

First Lutheran, Houston

Pastor Evan McClanahan