“Light of the World” Isaiah 9: 1-7 John 8:12

When I say the word “prophesy” what comes to your mind? For some of us we think of things that were said a long time ago that pointed to Jesus. For other folks, we get a little nervous when we hear the word prophesy because we’ve seen too many false prophets in our lifetime. Maybe something else comes to your mind entirely. 

The reason I ask that question, Church, is because for the next few weeks we are going to be digging into some of the prophesies about Jesus found in the Old Testament and connect them to proclamations that he made about himself in the Gospels. Helping form a bridge between the past and today. 

This is hard and holy work, friends, because if we don’t understand what prophesies Jesus came to fulfill, it is really hard to to understand the “I am” statements found in the Gospel of John. And we really can’t understand why folks reacted to them in such a way, let alone connect them to what they mean for us today. 

With that in mind, let’s jump into our first text this morning found in the ninth chapter of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is speaking to a people who have been beaten down for some time. The children of Israel are not in the land of Israel - they are in the land of Baboon after being carried off as exiles. They have been there so long that it’s starting to see like all hope is lost. To which Isaiah is sent to say, that isn’t true. Hope is on the way. It just may be an unexpected way. 

This is a scripture that we primarily hear during the season of Advent. But friends, scripture is not meant to be relegated to only certain times of the year, because it is the Living Word of God. So while we love that this prophecy fits into our calendars and hearts when we hear about the Christ child being born, it is greater than that. 

Yes, a child has come! But through him comes a total transformation. A transformation for individual hearts and lives and a transformation for the world. For through him righteousness and justice will reign. Through him joy will increase. The darkness will be overcomes. The rod of the oppressor will be broken and the promise of peace will be made complete!

Now imagine that you are one of the exiles back in the day and time of Israel. A prophet has come with this message. How would you react? Would you even be willing to hear it? 

What Isaiah is talking about here is a savior who is coming and is going to answer the very yearnings of a people for whom darkness is their daily reality. If anyone knows anguish its folks who have been waiting for years to get back to a land that they can call their home. Who wake up every day for decades and do not see hope on the horizon. 

To which Isaiah says, yes, this hope of a new light dawning is for you. But its going to come in and unexpected and vulnerable way. It’s going to come through a child being born. But God is doing this for you. 

And a ruler was raised up who came to set the people of Israel free, allowing them to go from a land of captivity, into freedom. Praise be to God!

But then Jesus shows up and says these words that are so deeply connected to Isaiah and people are turning their heads. Hadn’t that prophesy already been fulfilled? Who is this Jesus to come and say that he is the light of the world?

Jesus is trying to get into people’s hearts and heads that the great act that took place when the Israelites were restored to their land - that was only the beginning. God is continuing to overcome the darkness, darkness that the people had been so steeped in over the years that they could not even see it any more. And that salvation was coming through the true light of the world. 

What about us, church? How do we react when Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 

 Imagine that you are in the pitch black of night. You can’t see anything at all. You give it a moment for your eyes to adjust before you decide that light is needed. You flip on the beam of your flash light and a single beam makes it possible for you to take one step at a time in the right direction without stumbling. 

For several years, a flashlight was my constant companion while at church camp as a counselor. Especially when I worked with elementary aged children. At the particular camp I volunteered at - the bath house was located a bit of a distance away from cabins, so several times during the night, myself or another one of the counselors, picked up our trusty flashlight and walked with our students down to the bathroom.

 There is a big difference however, between the light emitted from a flashlight, and that which comes from a light bulb. Flip a switch with a light bulb and a whole room lights up, even in the darkest of nights, while a flashlight’s beam will only light, one, maybe two steps ahead of you at a time. 

When Jesus proclaims that he is the light of the world and that we will never walk in darkness, I think a lot of us wish Jesus acts as a light bulb, lighting up a room in such a way that we can see everything in front of us. But I’m not sure that is what Jesus is talking about when he  proclaims to be the light of life. Maybe, just maybe, Jesus’s light is a bit more like that flashlight, making it so we can only see one or two steps in front of us - making us take one step forward in faith, knowing that Jesus walks with us, so we can take the next step.

Another thing that you learn from a flashlight, is that everyone pretty much needs their own. Sometimes, one person can share the light from their flashlight and two people can walk forward, but it does not work very well to have one flashlight trying to lead a group - a lesson quickly learned by counselors of elementary students who don’t want to carry their flashlights. 

 When we don’t have our own connection to the Light and try to rely solely off of the faith of others, we stumble along the path. The Pharisees were struggling with this type of stumbling in today’s passage. They don’t understand what Jesus is talking about, cannot see the truth in his words, so they accuse him of bearing false witness. Jesus says that his testimony is valid, and goes on to explain that one cannot know God, one cannot come into the light of Truth, simply by relying on the law. They needed more then that to step forward in faith.

Back to camp. This past year, I worked with high school students, and we did an exercise I never experienced before. Under the pitch blackness of night, the campers grabbed a hold of a rope, were blind folded, and did a trust walk in darkness. It was painful at times, to watch them stumble their way along the path. Everyone walked with caution. A few students were frightened. And it took us quite a while to get to the “trust” part of the trust walk. 

I think we all go through dark times in our life. Times when it is hard to trust God and we feel like we are stumbling along the path. For me, such times come when I feel disconnected from the light of Christ. When I can’t bring myself to pray. Times when I forget to switch on the flashlight, letting Jesus lead my way step by step. Times when I ignore the flashlight beam, because what I really want is the light bulb to shine brightly. 

So my question for you, friends, is this. Are you truly trusting that Jesus is the light of the world? Are you seeking to see and share that light? Because friends, the light of Jesus Christ cannot be put to shame. Amen.