"He Has Made His Light Shine Upon Us"

Texts: Psalm 118:14-29; John 20:19-31

CHRIST IS RISEN!  ("He is risen indeed!")

What a wonderful piece of good news!  This is what we believe and what we confess, the truth by which we are saved: That Jesus Christ died for our sins, and was raised in glory on the third day.

At least, I hope that is what we believe.  It's what we hope everyone we know and love believes.  But we can't take that for granted.  These days, people believe all sorts of things about life that aren't true.  They believe it's okay to give in to sin, even that it should be celebrated and given special rights.  They believe that there are all sorts of ways to gain eternal life.  They believe that truth is what they think it is, instead of what God says it is.

And they refuse to believe what is true.  The fact that God is the Creator and has the right to make the rules for creation.  The fact that sin is offensive to Him and we need a Savior to take away our sin and make us acceptable to Him.  The fact that Jesus Christ alone is that Savior, and outside of Him we have no hope now or in eternity.

There's a good chance most of us here have been Christians for years.  Maybe even from childhood.  It's hard for us to understand why it isn't obvious to others that Jesus Christ is Lord of life who is risen from the dead.

But our reading from the Gospel according to St. John reminds us that believing in Christ as our risen Savior is not automatic or obvious.  It wasn't even automatic or obvious to those who walked with Jesus as His closest disciples.  In verse 19 of chapter 20 we find them huddled together behind locked doors.  They're afraid of the Jewish authorities.  Sure, Mary Magdalene and the other women have brought the news that Christ is risen.  Peter and John have even been to the tomb and found it empty.  But they don't believe it.  As far as they're concerned, Jesus was still dead and their turn to die might come next.

And then there's Thomas, who declares frankly that he won't believe it unless he sees the resurrected Christ in person and can probe His crucifixion wounds.

All these men had walked with Jesus and seen what He could do.  All of them had heard Him say He would rise again.  All of them had heard testimony-- testimony from witnesses they should have believed--that their Lord had returned gloriously from the dead.  But they did not believe.  They could not believe.  As human beings with human limitations, it was impossible for them to believe.  But why?

First, for the same reason the unbelieving world rejects the truth of the resurrection today; the same reason that we too once didn't believe in Jesus risen: Because their minds were still blinded by sin.

The Scriptures tell us that we are all born dead in trespasses and sins.  Our eyes are closed to the vision of God and what's more, we like it that way.  We prefer to create our own worlds, our own reality, our own rules for right and wrong.  We want to be our own gods and our own saviors-- if we think we need to be saved from anything in the first place.  As Jesus said in chapter 3 of John's Gospel, unless we are born again from above by the power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot see the kingdom of God.  Unless God Himself intervenes in our spirits, we prefer darkness and won't come into the light for fear our evil deeds will be exposed.

But there's another reason why the disciples, why we human beings as human beings cannot believe in the risen Christ.  It's because God has reserved the right of converting us to Himself.  The new birth comes only from above. Becoming a child of God isn't something that can happen by human desire or initiative, but solely because God gives a person that right. God the Father must reveal to us who Jesus is, the Christ of God.  Spiritual truths are discerned by spiritual means only, by the power of God's Holy Spirit.  God has ordained that it should be this way, so the glory for our salvation and our growth in holiness should remain where it belongs, with Him alone.

And so here are the disciples in the 20th chapter of St. John, hiding and refusing to believe that Jesus had been raised until He  Himself came and stood among them, alive, risen from the dead.  "Peace be with you!" He said.  He showed them His hands and side, where they could see the wounds of the nails that fastened Him to the cross and the spear that pierced His body.  They saw, they believed, they were overjoyed.

We could say they believed because they saw the physical evidence.  And to some extent this is so.  In recent centuries many unbelieving scientists and lawyers, both atheists and men of other faiths, have looked at the historical, legal, and medical evidence for and against the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  They've had to conclude that it really happened, that the gospel accounts are true.  However--  accepting the facts intellectually didn't lead all of them to believe in the resurrection of Christ and its power in their lives.  With some, yes, God used the physical evidence to open their spiritual eyes and bring them to saving faith and joy.  But for many others, having to accept the earthly reality of Christ risen has led to disappointment, anger, and rejection.   Their sin blinds them, and God in His sovereign will has not chosen that they should see His light and believe.

It is not the mere sight of a crucified man walking around alive that convinced the disciples that evening.  That could be explained away.  Rather, it is Jesus Himself who shines His light to bring belief and joy to His fearful followers.  By His resurrection power He overcame the locked doors.  He overcame the disciples' locked, fearful minds, and demonstrated that indeed it was He Himself standing in their midst.  Result?  Saving belief.  Reaction?  Joy!!

But what of Thomas' reaction when they tell him the good news?  He demands physical evidence in order to believe, and you can be sure that he doesn't believe the physical evidence is there.  

When you read Thomas' other statements in the Gospel of John, you'll see that his doubt does not arise from scientific skepticism.  Rather, Thomas is kind of a fatalist.  He's the one, when Jesus spoke of returning to the suburbs of Jerusalem to raise Lazarus,  "Let us also go, that we may die with him," because Jerusalem was the last place Jesus should go if He wanted to stay alive.  You've probably known people like Thomas.  They expect the worst, and the best pleasure they get out of life is being right when it happens.  

Not everyone who rejects the truth of Christ does so because they feel the facts are against it.  There are also people like Thomas who feel they can't believe in the good news of Jesus risen because it is good news.  Nothing so wonderful could possibly have happened.  Even if it had, it couldn't possibly make any difference to them.  No, it's a cruel, rotten world, they tell themselves, it even killed the best and holiest Man who ever lived, and you may as well accept that's the way things are.

Can people who disbelieve due to emotional hurt change their minds on their own?  No, they can't.  Thomas couldn't, our unbelieving friends and neighbors can't, and we couldn't ourselves.

But then Jesus came and stood among His disciples, including Thomas the sad doubter.  Miraculously, by His divine resurrection power He came, despite the doors that again were locked.  He knew Thomas' thoughts without being told.  He repeated the very words Thomas had spoken earlier in the week, saying, "Put your finger here; see my hands.  Reach out your hand and put it into my side.  Stop doubting, and believe."  And miraculously, by the divine light of revelation, Thomas was thoroughly convinced.  He did not make the physical test of Jesus' wounds.  He didn't need to.  His spiritual eyes were opened, he believed, and confessed the truth about who Jesus was and who Jesus was to him.  "My Lord and my God!" he exclaimed.  God used the earthly sight of Jesus risen to work faith in Thomas' heart.

But Jesus tells him. "Blessed are those who have not seen, yet have believed."  To whom is our Lord referring?  I was moved to  research the Greek of this saying, and discovered that it can literally be translated "Blessed are the ones not having seen, yet having believed."  But the words "having seen" and "having believed" are in a tense that is not limited by time.  In other words, the action of not seeing, yet believing, that Jesus speaks of can happen in the past, in the present, or in the future.  Brothers and sisters, the blessing of knowing and believing in Christ risen for you is for you now, and for all whom God shall call to believe the message  preached and recorded by His faithful apostles.  It is the blessing and gift of God that we should believe, for He has shined His light upon us and called us out of darkness and doubt.

God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead and we are raised from death and sin in Him!  How shall we respond?  With joy!  By falling at His feet and confessing, "My Lord and my God!"  By singing with the Psalmist who wrote Psalm 118, for he spoke as a prophet and looked forward to the ultimate salvation that would be found in God's own Son, the Messiah Jesus.

For the Lord is our strength and our song, He himself is our salvation.  He has made us righteous, and so we celebrate His victory over sin and death, not only on Easter Sunday but every Lord's Day of the year and all the days in between.  His right hand has won this great victory, the Lord has done this mighty thing, bursting forth from the grave.

And so in Him, we will not die, but live.  We will proclaim the wonders of what Christ has done, no matter who believes us or not, for our sins are forgiven; they no longer will lead us to death.

In Christ we can enter the gates of righteousness.  We can go into God's royal presence and give Him the thanks He deserves.  We can go where only the righteous may go, because Jesus Christ the Righteous One has gone before us and credited us with His goodness and holiness and made us acceptable to God.  He has answered our cry and has forever become our salvation.

The Psalmist refers to the stone the builders rejected that became the capstone.  This harks back to the building of Solomon's temple.  But it harks forward to Jesus Himself, who made it clear that He is the stone that was rejected.  Unbelief in Him did not start in this modern age, oh, no!  And unbelief did not and does not keep the Lord God from making His Son the capstone of all His plans for humanity.  He indeed has exalted Jesus Christ to the highest position of majesty and power, and His work is marvellous in our eyes.  This day of salvation, He alone has made it: let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Because Jesus is risen and because God has caused us to believe in the power of His resurrection, we can cry out, "O Lord, save us!" and know that He can and He will.  We can pray for success in walking in His ways, and know that His Spirit is with us so we can do just that.  Blessed is Jesus Christ who comes in the name of the Lord!  Forever let His Church bless Him!  And we can bless Him and not reject Him, for the Lord is God, and He has made His light to shine upon us.

He brings us near to worship Him, where before we wanted to worship all sort of false gods; especially, we wanted to worship ourselves.  By the grace of Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead, He is our only God, and we will give Him thanks; He is our God and we will exalt Him.

Brothers and sisters, it can be hard living as a Christian in this world.  So many refuse to believe in our risen Savior, and people can be so noisy and aggressive in their unbelief.  What a temptation for us just to lock the doors and hide, like the disciples did in those early days.  But we shall not be afraid and we won't hide.  Rather, we can  have confidence in the power of God to shed His light upon this dark world and trust Him to enlighten the hearts He has chosen.  Remember what you were before He shined His light on you, and know that the hardest heart is not too hard for Him.  Let us lovingly and faithfully tell others that Jesus Christ is alive from the dead and let God do His work through His word.

Will they believe our message?  Maybe, maybe not.  All that is up to God alone.  But what ever happens, we can have faith that the Lord is good, for His love for us in Christ endures forever.  Give thanks to Him, give thanks, for Jesus Christ is risen!

(He is risen indeed!)

Alleluia, amen!

Everlasting Light and Terminal Darkness

Texts: Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

WHENEVER I GO TO PREACH AT a new church, someone always asks, "How many pairs of glasses do you have!?"

And I generally say, "I’m not sure. Three or four with me today?"

Then they ask, "How come?"

Well, it’s got to do with an eye operation I had when I was in seminary. My eyesight got so bad I could hardly see to read. The operation was pretty successful but my eyesight changes during the day. So I keep various strengths of cheap glasses around, so I have the magnification I need when I need it.

But I’ve noticed something. If the light is good, I don’t need my glasses to be quite as strong. If I’ve got good light, sometimes I can read with no glasses on at all.

I’ve noticed something else, especially right after my operation twelve years ago. There was a period of a day or two when I was effectively blind. It wore off, of course. But during that period, I couldn’t stand the light. I had to keep the shades drawn in my seminary dorm room. I couldn’t go outside. I had to keep my eyes shut or wear dark sunglasses if I had to venture anywhere any sort of light might be.

So which is it? For someone who has difficulty seeing, for someone who is blind, is light good, or is it bad?

That’s the problem St. John presents in our gospel reading today. But John isn’t talking about physical light. No, he’s talking about the light of God.

More than that, St. John is talking about God Himself as Light, about Jesus the eternal Son of God as the Light of the World. Do we see Jesus the light of the world as a cure for our spiritual blindness? Or does His light glare on us and make us shut our eyes and turn away? Or worse, do we think we ourselves have all the light we need and consider Jesus actually to be darkness in our lives?

The passage begins, "As he [that is, Jesus] went along, he saw a man blind from birth."

Notice that: Jesus saw the blind man. He didn’t just register him as an object in the landscape and keep on going. The eyes of His mind and His heart saw this poor man, and He stopped, and focussed His attention on him, and so His disciples stopped and actually saw the man, too.

That’s what light does. It shines on people and things. It illuminates them so they can be seen. Jesus the light of the world shone His attention on this blind man so the disciples could see him, too.

But the disciples didn’t quite see, not yet. "Rabbi," they asked, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" The way they saw things, tragedy or physical handicap had to be God’s direct punishment for sin.

That’s how we humans reason. Bad things happen to bad people. Or at least, they should. Our moral vision is naturally limited. We think it’s all about individuals getting what they deserve. We don’t envision that when God acts upon this fallen world, He’s operating on a much bigger scale.

So Jesus begins to open His disciples’ eyes and ours, even before He goes to work on the eyes of the man born blind. "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," Jesus says, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."

But isn’t that unfair on God’s part? Maybe even cruel? Here’s this man, he’s of age, which means he’s at least twenty years old, probably a lot older. All he can do is beg. He can’t do a man’s work for a man’s wage. He probably suffers torment from the street kids and the Roman soldiers. He can’t read the Torah. His handicap excludes him from the Temple! Come on, Jesus, is God some kind of sadist that He’d make a man suffer like that just He can display His works?

But we’d be blind to see things that way. Evil and darkness are in the world, brothers and sisters. We let them in when our first parents turned from the light of God in the Garden of Eden and we confirm their decision every day. Evil and darkness are all around us, and God has every right to make use of them to display His goodness and light. In fact, whenever God overcomes the present darkness and demonstrates that He is good and He is Light, He opens our eyes to that coming day when His goodness and His light will triumph for us and evil and darkness will be no more.

That was Jesus’ purpose in all His ministry, to reveal the light of God against the backdrop of this dark world. Do you think Jesus preached and healed just to make individuals feel better? Was He a walking motivational seminar and one-man mobile medical clinic? I tell you, no. Every word He spoke, every healing He ministered, went to prove that the light and power of God were breaking into the world and overcoming the powers of darkness and evil. Jesus in the flesh then and Jesus in the Spirit now is the Light of the world. He shines the light of God against the blindness and darkness of this world, that the darkness may flee and God’s character and activity may be seen by all.

On that day with the man born blind, Jesus did the work of the Father who sent Him. He made mud from the dust of the ground and His saliva, put it on the man’s eyes and bade him go wash in the pool of Siloam. Using the dust of the ground, Jesus created sight out of nothing for this man. What does that remind you of? It’s just as it was at the beginning of the world, when He, working as part of the holy and blessed Trinity, made creation out of nothing and made Adam from the dust of the earth.

Only God could do a deed like that. Only God could create sight where there was only blindness and bring light where chaos and darkness have reigned. God is Light, and Jesus displays that He is God when He works and creates as the Light of the World.

St. John tells us that the blind man obeyed. He made his way to the pool of Siloam, he washed, and he came home seeing.

Glory, glory, hallelujah! All the neighbors were struck with awe and wonder and could do nothing but praise the name of God!

Uh, no. The blind man’s eyes were opened, but the neighbors’ eyes were still closed. They couldn’t "see" the miracle Jesus had done. They tried to make out that it just a case of mistaken identity, that the healing never happened at all.

We suffer from the same blindness, don’t we? God works in the world and we can’t see it or we refuse to see it. I’m not talking about being sceptical of claims of modern-day miracles. We should always check such claims against Scripture and what we know of how God works. No, I’m talking about our refusal to see the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the life of the church. When the light of God breaks in, when He begins to give our friends new eyes for His Word, or when He begins to expand the vision of some in the church to new modes and opportunities for ministry, the natural thing is to cover our eyes and say, "Oh, no, that isn’t God at work. We’ve got everything under control here. The Lord can’t possibly be showing us anything new!" We’ve got our own light, we firmly believe. It hurts to open our eyes to the God Who is Light. But until we do, we’re blind men sitting in darkness.

The man who used to be blind can’t deceive himself that way. He knows the facts by personal experience. He was blind, and now he can see. He won’t be budged from the truth, even when the powerful and influential Pharisees get hold of him and grill him without mercy.

In fact, as the Pharisees’ understanding grows darker and more willfully blind, the spiritual eyes of this poor man are opened more and more, until at last he can recognise Jesus and worship Him as Messiah and Lord.

This is the work of God alone. Here is this beggar, blind from birth, never able to read the Law and the Prophets, and he can better see the Light of God at work than all this conclave of scribes and theologians who’d been wearing their eyes out poring over the scrolls since they were teenagers. He knew that God doesn’t listen to sinners. He knew that God listens to the godly person who does God’s will. He knew that it took the creative power of God to open the eyes of someone born blind. Not only did he know it, but when these truths were demonstrated in his own life, he saw them and embraced them.

The Pharisees knew all these things, too. But they couldn’t see it when Jesus displayed His goodness and godliness in the blind man. They had to go on regarding Jesus as a dangerous Sabbath-breaker. As a good-for-nothing of dubious origin-- as they say, "we don’t even know where he comes from"--meaning, "We don’t know who his father was, because we know it wasn’t Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth!" The Pharisees condemn Jesus as a sinner, blaspheming against the name and will of God. Jesus the light of the world is shining right in their faces in the person of this healed man, and they cover their eyes and refuse to see!

This is ironic, and tragic, and sad. The Pharisees knew that God is Light. They should looked at Jesus’ healing of this man and rejoiced that Jesus the Light of the World had come to take away the physical and spiritual blindness of His people. But all they can do is take a giant legal candle snuffer and try to make the light go away. They are the true blind ones, who hide from the light because it hurts their idea of who they are and what they believe God to be. They sit in the darkness and call it "light" and insist theirs is all the light anyone can ever need.

But let’s not throw rocks at the Pharisees. Because we’re all like them in our natural condition. We’re all born spiritually blind. We were all born in the dark. And like the Pharisees, like all of sinful humanity, we all thought we could see. As St. Paul says in Ephesians, "For you were once darkness." We were once dead and asleep with our eyes firmly closed, blocking out the light of God, who is God’s own Son, come into the world. We each of us thought we had the truth about God and what He wants from us and we resented any attempt by anyone to illuminate us to His true character and will.

But now, Paul says, we are Light. How? Because of our great knowledge? Because we’ve worked really hard and fanned into flame some mystical spark of divinity inside ourselves?

No, we are now light in the Lord. Christ has shined upon us. He has opened our eyes. He has brought us out of darkness into His marvellous light. We couldn’t heal ourselves; He healed and saved us out of His own goodness and sovereign love.

So let us live as children of light. Thanks to Him, we’re no longer those who close our eyes against the Light because it hurts us to change. Rather, we’re those whose blindness Christ has healed, who seek His light in His Word and His holy sacraments. Let us fall at the feet of Jesus, the Light of the World and worship Him, bringing forth the fruit of the light, which is goodness, righteousness and truth. For He has illuminated us and made us to be lights for the world. Jesus illuminates us as the sun lights up the moon, because He is God and God is light.

And you know, the time He shone most brightly is when the world seemed the darkest of all.

At the end of this service yet another candle will be put out to symbolize our journey closer to Calvary. And it’s true: Jesus the everlasting light of heaven and earth permitted His light for awhile to be extinguished on the cross. He allowed those who preferred their terminal darkness to the everlasting light of God to put Him to death. He let the prince of darkness for a brief moment believe that at last the darkness had overcome the light.

But the prince of darkness was wrong. The God who is Light can never be overcome, never be extinguished, never finally die. The darkness of the cross gave way to the everlasting light of eternal life for you and for me and for all whom the Lord our God shall call out of the blindness of this darkened world. The darkness of the cross opened the way to the glorious vision of the face of God to all who believe.

Receive the light our Saviour gives. Receive the sight He creates in you. For He Himself is our light. He is our vision. He is our everlasting Lord, and our glorious God. Amen.