Ephesians 5:8–14 NRSV
8 For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord, you are light. Live as children of light— 9 for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; 13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
Let us pray,
INTRODUCTION
Out of the darkness comes the light. Every workday, at dawn’s early light, Kevin Napier crawls into a long, black hole. Coal mining is safer than it used to be, though it’s still dusty and dirty, and there’s always concern that something terrible could happen deep inside a cramped shaft. But sometimes something wondrous can happen, too. Napier remembers the time he had stopped in a mine to eat his lunch, and he reached up and turned off the light on his safety hat. “Everything was completely dark, and I looked up a way, where the men were near the top, and I could see a light,” Napier said. “It made me realize how Jesus Christ came to me in the darkness while I was a sinner and brought me out to the light. ‘It’s in 1 Peter 2:9. The Bible says Jesus brings them out of the darkness and into everlasting light'” (Lexington Herald Leader, March 9, 2002, story by Art Jester).
This was a story about Kevin Napier written in the Lexington Herald Leader on March 9th, 2002. Now, if you have ever been inside of a cave and turned off your headlamp and flashlight, then you would know what darkness was.
It’s so dark when you do this that you cannot see what is in front of you. You could stick out your hand and you would not even be able to see it. Someone could stand right in front of you, merely a few inches away, and you would have no idea they were there.
That is what darkness does, it takes away our ability to truly see. Sure, sometimes our eyes adjust pretty well, but we still need a bit of light for help. Otherwise, without it, in the darkness we are completely lost.
WHAT WERE WE AND WHAT ARE WE NOW?
However, our Scripture today tells us that we were not only lost in darkness at one point, but that we WERE the darkness. At first this may seem a bit odd of a statement, how can we be darkness?
Darkness in the Bible has many meanings. While it can refer to a time of day, it also refers to a state of being. When Paul says that “you were darkness” he is saying that you were dominated by sin and death, that you lacked understanding.
More than that, being darkness is a result of sin.
Sin makes us dark. It darkens our minds and our hearts. It makes us desire the shadows and gloom of this world, and any infusion of light into this environment will be looked upon as an intrusion.( Holmes, M. A. (1997). Ephesians: a Bible commentary in the Wesleyan tradition (p. 153). Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House.)
Being darkness is not a good thing. It’s not something that anyone should ever desire, and for those of us who follow Christ, we are no longer darkness.
Through Christ, we have been made light. It is only through Him that this is even possible.
During some Christmas Eve services or Hanging of the Greens services here in Paint Lick, we stand in a circle with candles. Usually, the pastor dips their candle into the flame of the Christ candle and then passes that light around to the congregation.
That’s exactly what happens to us as Christians. The light of Christ is passed on to us, and then we become children of light. John 8:12 says, '"12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”'
Jesus, the light of the world, guarantees that whoever follows him will never walk in darkness again, that they will have the light of life! If you are a Christian this is great news that you have responded to, and if you aren’t a Christian, this is great news that is ready for you!
But, to those of us who have accepted this truth, how are we showing that we are light?
AS LIGHT WE GAIN...
After accepting the truth of Christ we come from being darkness to being light through the Lord. With this new identity of light we are supposed to show something for it. If you’ve read Galatians 5:22-23 recently you’ll know that Paul loves talking about physical evidence that comes from those who follow Christ. He calls them “fruits.”
As children of light, as light, we must be good, righteous, and truthful. But what does that actually mean?
I think I have the perfect way to summarize it for you.
In the Army they have something called “the Army Values.” Those values are; Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage . As we sat outside in the hot South Carolina sun listening to our Drill Sergeant list these values off, a soldier near me began to speak up. He was a young guy, from the middle of Detroit, and the Army was his only way of escaping the life he grew up in. He raised his hand, stood at parade rest and said, “Drill Sergeant, what is integrity?” A few soldiers chuckled, although I’m sure they wondered the same thing, and our Drill Sergeant said, “Private, integrity is a value that has to do with who you are when no one is looking. If you are honest, even if you know the person you are talking to would never know the difference if you were to lie, but you were honest anyways, you have good integrity.” But, the part of this Drill Sergeant’s explanation that has stuck with me throughout the years is this… when you are a good person no matter who sees or doesn’t see you, when you have a high moral character, when you’re honest and upright...that’s integrity.
I would say that living into our character of being light means that we have integrity. We show the world in all scenarios these fruits that Paul has laid out before us.
Along with these gifts we also gain a new charge, to “find out what is pleasing to the Lord.”
In order for us to do this we must be involved with the lost of society. We must reach out to those who seem unreachable. Look at how Jesus responded to these people. He ministered to them, he responded to their needs, he heard their cries. But, above that he prayed for those who became children of light.
In John 17:15, Jesus prayed for His disciples, for the church, and that the Father would keep them in the world while protecting them from Satan. He says, "15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one."
So as children of light, in the world, with protection from God the Father, what are we to do?
AS LIGHT WE EXPOSE...
Well, the lights' main job is to expose the darkness. When you enter into a dark room you turn on the light, or shine a flashlight, or when the power goes out you light a candle. The light fills the room and seemingly pushes back all of the darkness.
Paul tells us here that we are not to partake in the unfruitful works of darkness, but to instead expose them.
This is an incredibly difficult thing to do today. Often times when we address people about their sins, their darkness, we are met with “the Bible says you shouldn’t judge, so why are you judging me?!” Using this Scripture in this way is misusing the Scripture.
Exposing darkness to light is not condemning the darkness, it is simply saying, “Here, I have a light.”
It’s as if I have a friend who is stealing money from work. When I say nothing to him, I am partaking in the unfruitful works of darkness. However, when I say to him, “You know what man, stealing really isn’t a good thing to do. It’s dishonest, and it causes harm” I’m not condemning him. I don’t tell him, “If you steal you’ll go to hell.” Instead, I need to say, “Christ tells us to live honest lives, ones without harm, ones that show love and care. What’s going on? Why do you feel the need to steal?”
Exposing the darkness is not condemnation, it’s not judgment, but simply bringing a light into the room.
However, when we expose things to the light we have to check how intense our light is. Mark Holmes explains it well when he says:
Exposing the dark actions of the world is an awesome responsibility that requires a special sensitivity. Light has many abilities and, if used wrongly, can harm instead of help. Light can create a warm, attractive atmosphere, or it can shine with an intensity that causes as much blindness as the dark. It can be an illumination that enables us to see, or a laser strong enough to burn through steel. How we shine the light of God into the world will be determined by our attitudes and motives.
(Holmes, M. A. (1997). Ephesians: a Bible commentary in the Wesleyan tradition (p. 156). Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House.)
But, something amazing happens when we expose darkness to light. Yes, it’s often met with sharp defenses, and sometimes they cut, but there is good that comes out of it.
Paul says that, “everything exposed by the light becomes visible.”
When something is hiding in the dark and light casts the darkness away, it becomes vulnerable. Vulnerability is a crucial part of our faith. Not many people come to Christ in a genuine manner by saying, “I’ve got it all under control God. Don’t you worry.”
It’s when we are vulnerable with God that we are actually open to hearing him. When we come to Him and say, “Father, I cannot do this on my own. I need your help,” we are being vulnerable.
So, when we expose darkness to light, and that person or people feel a bit vulnerable, that’s when work can be done.
Have you ever seen the videos of dogs that were left behind in abandoned homes? People will usually report these scenarios and either animal rescue or a brave person will try and get to the dog. In most cases, they break into the abandoned home and the light of day floods the house. The dog comes running to the door baring its teeth, barking wildly, spraying slobber everywhere, all while its eyes shy away from the newly introduced sunlight. They quickly run back into the protection of darkness and shade, still wild and aggressive. But usually, over time the people are able to gain a bit of trust from the dog, and it begins to come to them, as they stand in the light.
So we must not only expose the darkness to the light and make them a bit vulnerable, but we must also bring them the source of light.
It does us no good to hold one another and other people accountable of their sins if we do not have readily available the answer that they need!
We shouldn’t be shining the light to simply reveal the Enemy, but to, more importantly, reveal our God!
Frankly, we as Christians, as children of light, can spend way too much time and energy focusing on how to expose the evil that we never reveal the alternatives of God’s kingdom.
But, when we do this, when we reveal the glory of God and life-saving power of Jesus, those that become visible then stand a chance of becoming light. They then are more open to hearing about the Good News of Jesus Christ and responding to it positively.
These charges that are given to us by Paul take a lot of work, patience, love, and grace. And it’s possible that we can get caught up in it and forget that we too need the light of Christ around us.
AS LIGHT WE ARE SUSTAINED...
But, again, here comes Paul to the rescue. I believe this next part of Ephesians 5:14 shows that God sustains us. It gives us hope. Let’s read Ephesians 5:13-14 again. "13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,
“Sleeper, awake!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
This little bit given to us by Paul tells us about the journey of those who come to the light of Christ.
At “Sleeper, awake!” we have beautiful imagery. When we close our eyes we see darkness. Sure, a little bit of light comes in, but it’s pretty dark behind these eyelids.
When we are in darkness and are darkness, and we are exposed to light, our eyes open and we are awake.
If you have ever tried to wake your child up for school you know how difficult this can be.
I remember being a child and my mother having to wake my brother and me up for school. She would come in and calmly say, “Hey boys, it’s time to get up.” At that we would stir, groan a bit, and then say okay. After a few minutes of not hearing us get up our mother would then come back in and say, “Alright boys, you really need to get going. The bus will be here soon and you need to eat and get ready.” Again, we rustled and sat up. She’d shut the door, we’d crawl under our covers, and we fell back asleep. For a third time my mother would come in, but like the FBI kicking down doors, she practically kicked down our door. She flipped on the light, pulled our covers off and yelled, “Alright, that’s it! It’s time to get your butts out of bed and get ready for school! LET’S GOOOOO!” This sudden exposure to light, along with the very loud screaming made for a rough morning, and the light was not my friend in that moment.
But, when I crawled out of bed after being exposed to the light, it’s as if I rose from the dead.
I was awoken from my slumber, my eyes opened to the light, and now I was up. That’s the journey we take as Christians when we come into the light of Christ. Our eyes are opened, the light blinds us at first, maybe we feel overwhelmed, but then we become the light and we rise from the dead.
We are justified by Christ, renewed, forgiven of our sins, and sent to spread the light into the world. Doing this is rewarding as much as it is difficult. And, sometimes circumstances arise where we feel like we want to close our eyes again and crawl back into the darkness.
We as Christians have a tough job. We are asked to live in this world filled with darkness and be the light that exposes it. We aren’t always everyone’s favorite people, and we sometimes have to say things that people need to hear, but that aren’t very popular. More often then not we are called to be counter-cultural, and today that can be dangerous, difficult, and exhausting.
As we continue to try and do this, especially in the wake of the increasing pandemic that is COVID-19, we must remember this very last line in today’s Scripture.
“Christ will shine on you.”
Brothers and sisters, we are not in this alone. Even through our hard work as lights in the darkness, even as we are separated this morning when we would normally be worshipping God together and recharging for the week, Christ’s light still shines on us.
We must remember that as we continue to miss worship in this building we must continue to worship together from home. As I said last week worship is like a gas station. If we are determined to drive from New York to California, but we never stop to refill our gas, we will not get very far.
However, always finds a way to bring positive out of the negative. He always finds a way for His will to be done. So, if you are feeling empty this week, if you feel that you are especially vulnerable to spiritual attacks or persuasion from the Enemy, please call me. I will join you in prayer, read Scripture with you, talk about what’s going on. Whatever you need.
We are all in this together, we are all children of the light. But, sometimes we need one another to help us remember who the true light is, Jesus Christ.
As long as you have Jesus Christ at the center of your life, as long as you remember that he is a lamp upon your feet, you will be okay. The Enemy will not be able to surround you with darkness again, and you can continue to walk in the light.
So as this next week unfolds, remember what you are called to do. You are to be the lights in this dark world. You have been called and charged to expose the darkness and share the light of Christ. Remember to do it in a way that is true to the Gospel, showing love and grace, but never back down when someone needs to hear it. Above all else, remember that Christ is continuing to shine His light upon you.
Go in peace this week, in the name of Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
