January 8, 2012 2 Corinthians 4:6
God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
God did not create this world to be dark, but that’s the way it started. In this passage Paul takes us back to the origins of creation. He calls it “darkness.” This is what Moses writes in Genesis 1:1-3,
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
It is hard to imagine such a place, where things are not able to seen or grasped or built. But God wasn’t done with His creative work. In this dark and formless world God spoke light into existence. Without a sun and without stars; three days before they were created; with a simple Word, God created light.
Once light was then in the world, God proceeded to put the world in order and shape it into a very organized and useful place. The stars would help us designate seasons and the sun will help us determine days and years. How important the light was! It enables us to see and to work with God’s creation. Creation without the light would not be complete. In some ways you could say that Creation was made and designed to have light in it. So the Light of the world spoke light into our world.
The way in which God created the world and put light within; the same could be said of the human being. God created us to have Light in us as well. Our hands and our mouths, our emotions and are thoughts are meant to be the sun, moon and stars of our being; through which the light of God shines through to the people living in our world. Man was made in the image of God; so that everything that personified God would be reflected in us and come beaming out through us.
God’s Light Shines in the Darkness
I. He shines to expose the darkness
There are many theologians today who like to talk about how precious we are as humans, BECAUSE we are human and because we are given the image of God through which God’s glory can shine. But this kind of talk can lead people astray, because it tends to forget about what the Scriptures say about the Fall into sin, where Adam and Eve LOST the spiritual sense of this existence. In Genesis 5:2-3 Moses seems to contrast the way Adam and Eve were created and what happened to them because of sin.
When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.
Moses repeats it with two different words, saying that Seth was born in Adam’s likeness and image. Instead of being a source from which God’s attributes of love and mercy and wisdom would flow, Adam and Eve’s children turned into a black hole of sorts. Instead of God’s love and mercy and wisdom shining through them, they turned into self consuming creatures who only want all things to serve themselves; full of darkness; living unregulated and uncontrollably according to their own passions.
In today’s text Paul uses the beginnings of Creation to compare what God does with us. He compares the human heart to the darkness of the unformed Creation, only the Scriptures say that it is even worse than that. Not only is it unformed and dark in the chaotic sense; that people live without a purpose; it also has a certain wickedness to it where it openly and willfully produces dark and evil things. It isn’t only the lack of holiness and perfection, it is also a factory of wickedness. Jesus said in Mark 7:21-23
From within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’
Paul also made mention of this in his letter to the Ephesians 4:18 when he wrote that unbelievers are, “darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” Notice the words he uses, “darkened” and “separated from the life of God.” These are powerful words. They do not depict an enlightened world that just needs a little guidance. They depict a hardened and darkened world on the way to hell.
If you doubt this could be true, watch Entertainment Tonight and see what the world glories in and is so attracted to; the Casey Anthonys, the Kardashians and more. You don’t only see it on the television. Ask your classmates or your co-workers what they did over the weekend when you get back to school or work. At best many of them traveled to one entertainment after another. I would not be surprised if some of them reveled in things that were openly immoral. It isn’t unusual for young college men to brag about the last person they slept with. It really isn’t all that uncommon to hear a co-worker boast about how he or she told someone off; or how he or she got drunk over the weekend. When you go to a classmate’s home, you might quickly notice that he or she doesn’t speak very kindly to his or her parents. There is not much respect. You might see it at work or at school as well. These are all reflections of the darkness.
Yet it is also shocking to take a good look at yourself as well. Examine some of the thoughts that go through your mind when you aren’t even trying to think about such things. Even Christians can daydream about some pretty bad things from time to time and then catch themselves and say, “Where did that come from?” Very often you will catch yourself getting caught up in a conversation that you know you shouldn’t be in, but a part of you enjoys such conversations. The darkness still has echoes of shadow even in the heart of a Christian. Those shadows are felt when a part of you enjoys and even defends your own sinful behavior; you might even joke about your past sins and laugh about them, as if God thought they were no big deal.
God didn’t create the world to be dark and chaotic. His ultimate goal for the world was to have an enlightened and orderly home for us to live in. He didn’t create humans to generate such darkness either. So when the devil brought things back into spiritual darkness, God didn’t sit by idly. He put a curse on His creation so anyone who lives in this world would know that something isn’t right. He fulfilled His curse of death on humanity so people would not be able to ignore the darkness. He allowed natural consequences of evil behavior to usually be bad in the end. The thief gets stolen from. The drug addict loses his teeth or his liver goes out. God also sent prophets to call the world to repentance. These are all acts to try and enlighten the world as to their condition and their need for a true and lasting light. This is a part of Epiphany. God needs to shine some light on our world to show us how dark it is down here. But Epiphany shows us that God did something even more magnificent. He Himself came into this world and took on flesh. He reveals that Jesus is God who took on flesh. He did this to become an eternal beacon of light to lead people out of darkness.
II. He shines in spite of the darkness
Think about the wonder of this expedition! Two years ago we went on a family adventure to find a cave in the middle of the forest of South Dakota. An old hillbilly told me about it and I really wanted to try and find it. My family humored me and came along. We drove for over a half an hour, crossed a marsh, and climbed half way up a hill in search of this nearly hidden cave; but we found it. With our newly bought flashlights we attempted the cave with trepidation. We didn’t know what would be inside of it; bats or sleeping animals. The cave only ended up being about ten feet deep. There was nothing in it but mosquitos. But the sense of entering the cave of darkness with just a flashlight was still a rather scary prospect. We didn’t know what we’d find in the darkness. In contrast, God knew exactly what He would find when He came into our world. It was much worse than a sleeping bear or a hungry lion. It was a world full of selfish humans who loved living in the dark.
This also is an amazing thing. God willingly entered into the dark with Himself as the flashlight. He knew what He was about to expose and it wasn’t going to be pretty; He also knew how the people would react; but He did it anyway. The entryway doors of the church were hard to fit when we had them installed because the baseboard had warped. The installation crew chose not to lift up the baseboard out of fear what was underneath. They were afraid that if they started digging into that, they might find a lot worse things. They thought that ignoring the potential problem underneath would be the safest approach. That’s the way we tend to approach life. You know certain topics to stay away from with certain people, because it will open up a bag of who knows what. You yourself have your discussions and issues that you avoid, because you don’t want to expose yourself to pain and heartache. You stay on as safe and neutral ground out of fear of what exposure will do. Jesus didn’t do that. He came here to openly expose evil and shine on it with His light.
Think of how Jesus performed His ministry. He wasn’t one to shy away from sensitive topics. Many of the Jews knew that the religion of the Pharisees and the Sadducees was hypocritical, yet none of them were bold enough to call them out. Jesus, on the other hand, openly exposed their hypocrisy. He knew that the light of exposure would make them angry and defensive; even murderous. Yet He didn’t avoid those problem areas. He didn’t stay away. He came right in with His light and exposed the darkness, even though it made the darkness raving mad. He didn’t avoid the sick and the diseased. Nor did He stay away from the tax collectors and the prostitutes. He went in with His light and openly sought them. Then, at the height of His ministry, when His enemies were really getting angry; some of His disciples begged Him to stay away from Jerusalem. Jesus did nothing of the sort. He went into Jerusalem with the sounding of children singing in triumphal entry. He went there to expose the world His light and show it how much He really loved it. This is what Epiphany is about. The light shining in the darkness.
Paul told the Corinthians that God “made his light shine in our hearts.” This is a personal mission God has for you as well. This is what Jesus wants to do in your heart as well. But you put up barriers around your sin and your guilt and your feelings of anger and rejection. One man would get irate with his wife whenever she touched his mouth. All of this went back to the fact that his mother used to sit on him and cover his mouth in order to get him to quit rebelling. For years and years he held the anger and shame inside. He never talked about it or confessed his feelings of anger and shame to anyone. Even though he thought he had moved beyond it, they came bursting forth in wild episodes of anger and rage at his wife over a small thing like touching his mouth. The man knew that Jesus died for him and he was forgiven, but he never thought about how that forgiveness applied to what he felt about his mother. He had put a wall around that episode of his life and thought that his wall would take care of it, but the wall didn’t take care of it.
We like to live with our own little barriers; to deal with sin in our own little private way. Even though God still loves you and forgives you, there is still much guilt and many unresolved issues that often linger behind the walls of your heart. Drunkenness doesn’t take care of it. A stiff upper lip doesn’t mend the pain either. But you tenaciously keep the walls up high out of fear that your deeds will be exposed, so that no one; neither your pastor or your spouse will ever know what is bothering you within.
Jesus came into this world to break down those walls of your heart. He wants his light to shine in every area and part of your life; especially in the darkest recesses of your heart. Listen again to what Paul wrote. God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Darkness is, in an ironic way, the best place for the light to shine. When a light shines in the light it tends to dilute the light. But when a light shines in the darkness it is appreciated and used. Imagine the most dark and disturbing periods in your life that you try to repress and forget; what if Jesus could fill that memory with His love and forgiveness? This is what He wants to do. It is what the light is for. He doesn’t want any darkness.
III. He shines in the face of Christ
When a person carries a light, it also reflects the light back on his or her face. Sometimes the light is menacingly put under the face to look more scary. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai after talking with God, his face was shining in reflection of being in the presence of God Himself. It looked glorious, and the Law which he carried down the mountain with him was glorious and perfect, but the people couldn’t obey the Law perfectly. The light of the Law’s exposure of their failures made them ashamed to have God see them. It made God look angry to them. But when Christ carries the light, we see a face that is inviting and beautiful. The light comes from “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”
Paul tells you to look carefully at Jesus’ face; all covered with blood that is dripping down from His forehead with the crown of thorns on the cross. He knows all of your dirty little secrets, but He is not looking away from you. He is looking directly at you. You are ashamed. You look down. You try to walk away from Him, as the woman who touched the edge of His cloak. But Jesus calls after you, just as He did the woman. He says to you, “Come back. Look at me here. I know it is sad and scary to see me dying here. I know your sins caused me to be here. But I volunteered for this. I wanted to be here for you. I am hanging here because I wanted to pay for your sin. I am dying here even for that one sin that has been bothering you for all these years. Can’t you see why I am here? I’m doing this because I love you, and I want you to see My love for you and to know that you are forgiven. It is for you; all of you; everything you’ve ever done.”
This glorious face of Jesus is meant to enlighten you and to break down the thickest of walls you’ve put around yourself. Did your parents reject you and ridicule you for never doing anything right? Look at Jesus and see His face. He says to you, “I spread out my arms on the cross to accept you. I did everything right for you. As your parents were pushing you away, I wanted you to see Me holding my arms open to you. As your spouse has rejected you for not meeting up to his standards, my standards are simple. I am here because I love sinners who don’t meet the standard. When you are baptized and believe in me I cover your failures. Instead of pushing you away from me, I embrace you with my gracious arms.”
Did you say something awful to someone? Imagine Jesus being punched in the mouth for you. Did you get drunk to forget your sin? See that Jesus refused drink in order to feel your sin. Jesus wants to break into the caverns of your heart and expose your sin so that you can know and experience the feeling of forgiveness that has always been yours. Have your children rejected and run away from you? When the Wise Men went to Bethlehem they found Jesus right where the star led them to be. They saw His bright and innocent face welcome them. Our star is the Word and sacraments. They don’t only lead us to Jesus, they give us Jesus. No matter how far you’ve run away from your issues, He will always be here for you in the same place. The light is bright and it is clear. It is meant to draw you to Him.
When someone comes to your door unexpected, you may only allow them in the entryway because you don’t know them and your house isn’t very clean. When you invite someone you know to your house, you might only clean out the living room, the kitchen and one bathroom. You shove all of your garbage in one room and shut the door, hoping the guest never goes in there.
This is the way we treat sometimes inadvertently treat Jesus. We enjoy having Him in certain parts of our lives, but we are afraid to let Him into the hidden closets of our lives and let Him see us for who we are.
Jesus didn’t come only for people who can put on a guise of having a clean house. He came for dirty sinners who have filthy houses and locked closets. Like with Zacchaeus, He came into your home through baptism and said, “I’ve seen your house. I know how dirty it is. But I love you. I have forgiven you. I want to dwell here.”
It is always a fear of ours that if people really knew who we are that they would mock us or not love us; or maybe never converse with us anymore. That’s why we shut ourselves off from people. It’s true, many people might not want to be with us if they knew how we thought or all that we’ve done. Our relationship doesn’t always require such honesty and we don’t need to risk it with such honesty.
But we don’t need to fear that this would happen with Jesus. He’s different. He already knows who you are and what you’ve done. Whether you open your doors or not He’s already seen your closets. When you are honest with him, instead of being shocked and disowning you, He does the most shocking thing of all. He doesn’t walk out. He takes His holy and precious and bloody arms and comes up to you, grabs you, and keeps on wrapping in His love and forgiveness as He always promised He would. When you open the door to Him, you find that He already had come and cleaned out your mess long before you opened your room to Him. He did this on the cross. This is a most enlightening thing to experience. It’s what God wants you to know.
John 1:4-5 says, In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. Jesus came into this world so that we could see the light and understand how holy and gracious God really is. This is what Epiphany is about. My prayer is that Jesus would do that for you today. May the light of Christ crash into your heart today so you can grasp and appreciate all the more how merciful and forgiving He really is. Amen.
