“I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD”

Here’s a riddle for you: What am I? I am radio-active, I am multi-coloured, I am able to penetrate water to a depth of 240 feet, I can travel faster than a speeding bullet, and I am essential for all life on earth to exist.

What am I?

I am light.

And now for the wikipedia bit: Light is a form of energy, made up of electro-magnetic radiation, which the human eye is able to pick up. It’s made up of 3 primary colours (red, green and blue) and a spectrum of 7 colours (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet), which can be seen when sunlight is refracted, as in a rainbow. The rays of the sun can penetrate the ocean to a depth of 240 feet. Light travels at 186,282 mps, and takes 8 minutes 20 seconds to reach the earth from the sun (by contrast, sound travels at a mere 343 mps, which is the reason we see a lightning bolt before we hear the thunder). Finally, light is essential for all life on earth to exist – without it, the earth would be nothing more than a piece of rock, floating around in space (if that).

But light can also be potentially dangerous. A bolt of lightning can reach about 54,000°F (30,000°C) - 6 times hotter than the sun. I once met a guy from Sri Lanka who’d been struck by lightning, not once, not twice, but 3 times! (And he still had hair on his head.)

So light can be understood on a scientific level – but there’s more than one way to look at the world.

Which leads us onto today’s Scripture …

John 8:12-20

Over Lent this year, we’re thinking about the “I am” statements of Jesus. And each of these claims is a way of saying, “I am God”, but they’re also a description of the kind of life that Jesus offers all those who follow Him.

So what is the “I am” statement Jesus makes here?

Ani ‘or ha’olam.

“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).

Question: What do ‘light’ and ‘darkness’ mean to you?

When we think ‘light’, we might think sun, moon, stars, flashlights, light bulbs, fire, fireflies, rainbows, matches, fireworks, lamps, lasers, etc. But the word ‘light’ can also represent other things: life and hope and joy and goodness. In a similar way, ‘darkness’ can refer to any situation where there is an absence of light, but it can also represent other things: death and fear and sorrow and wickedness – all things negative.

But what did Jesus mean when He said all this? We’re told that Jesus was standing in a part of the Jerusalem Temple where the offerings were given – the Court of the Women. In this court were 4 colossal lamp-stands or menorahs, which were lit at the feast of Tabernacles. These 4 lamp-stands represented the light of God’s presence, extending to the 4 points of the compass.

So Jesus is saying, “I am the light of God’s presence, for everyone.” And then He says, “Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Breaking it down, that means that in Jesus …

1) We see God as He is. God makes Himself known in the world He has created, in the commands He has given, but most importantly, in Jesus - because when we look at Jesus, we are looking at God – His love, His mercy, His goodness. In fact, without Jesus it is impossible to know God. We might know something about Him, but that doesn’t mean we know Him. But as we put our trust in Jesus, we begin to understand what God is really like.

2) We see us as we are. Look in the mirror in the dark, what can you see? Not much. Look in the mirror in the daytime, what can you see? Everything. Hair that needs brushing or combing, make-up that needs applying or a face that needs shaving, maybe a nose that needs blowing ... when Jesus shines into our lives, we begin to realise how messed up we really are. But we also realise that He loves us and has the power to change us, too.

3) We see life as it is. Sometimes life can be messy and complicated and downright difficult. And even if it’s plain-sailing at the moment, that doesn’t mean it’s going to stay that way. But in Jesus we know that whatever this life throws at us, that is not the end of the story. We have a future that the world does not have – a friendship with God that will outlast everything else. How do we know? Because Jesus has gone there ahead of us.

You see, when Jesus came into our world 2000 years ago, He was stepping into our darkness, and eventually He took it all on Himself on the cross – all of our sin and guilt and shame (that’s why the sky went dark over the Middle East and Mediterranean for 3 hours – He was absorbing our darkness).

But that’s not all. 3 days later He defeated death, came back to life and said goodbye to the darkness of the tomb. And because of that, we know that one day we will say goodbye to our own darkness, too – whatever it may be.

What About You …?

Perhaps you’re listening to this, and you can’t see the way ahead, or you’re wracked with guilt over mistakes you’ve made, or you’re afraid of what’s going on around you, or your life just doesn’t make sense. The message is: Focus on the light of the world, and He will lead you through it.

A final thought: In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus says that we too are the light of the world, coz if He is living in us it will begin to radiate into the lives of others. Just like a solar-powered lamp, if we are to be the people we have the potential to be, we need to draw our energy from another, more powerful light-source than ourselves.

It’s like the bit of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkerban I was reading to Josh the other day. Harry goes back in time to save himself and his friends, and they’re surrounded by Dementors, the guards of Azkerban prison. What does Harry do? He uses a Patronus Charm, which taps into what is good and produces light as a result – and the Dementors can’t stand it. In the same way, when we’re going through dark times or someone else is, we need to tap into something better and greater than ourselves. We need to tap into Jesus.

With all this in mind, let’s pray these words together:

Light of the world, may Your light shine into my life, and help me to shine that light into the lives of others.