Video of the Divine Service is here. The sermon begins around the 30:20 mark.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Have you ever had one of those experiences where you suddenly see, or see clearly, or understand, something you did not before? Before you could not understand it, or see the point, or see how it all fit together, and then suddenly, out of the blue, maybe because of a seemingly unrelated word or conversation, things became clear and you understood? It’s like a light switch being turned on, and it’s hard to understand how it actually happened. It is enlightenment. Before, you couldn’t see it at all. And now, you wonder how you could have missed it.

Something like that for an individual idea or bit of understanding is what Jesus is like for all things and all people. He says, I am the Light of the world. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And all things were made through Him, that Word. And without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was Life, and that Life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overtake it. He is Life and He is Light and so all things were made through Him, and all living things live through Him, whether they know it or believe it or not.

It seems natural to us to go from the darkness to the light. We talk about enlightenment as if it is a good thing. We all get a little nervous when the power goes out and we can’t turn on the lights. But even though all things were made through Him, and He is the Life and the Light of the world, He appeared—the Word was made flesh—but His own creatures did not receive Him. Instead of running to the light, they hid from the light, like Adam and Eve hiding from the one who was their life. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, but people love the darkness rather than the light. They do not come to the light because their deeds are evil. Better to hide in the darkness than to be exposed by the light.

And when sinners hide from the Light, the Light hides from sinners. After He had said all these things about the Light, about believing in the Light, about being sons of Light, He went and hid Himself from them. Who has believed the Word? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Their ears did not hear, their eyes did not see, their minds did not understand. Darkness breeds darkness breeds darkness.

But the Light shines in the darkness. In the darkness. And where is it darkest except where sin overwhelms and overtakes and destroys? Where is it darkest except where death is all we know? Where is it darkest except where nothing is right, and relationships go wrong, and we cannot fix what we have broken? Where is it darkest except where the darkness from our own hearts has its own way? We do whatever we want; how’s that working for us? The Light shines in the darkness. He rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, to shouts and praise, but that’s not where He shines. He shines in the darkness, hung up on the cross like a lantern hung on a pole. Do you wish to see Jesus? Here, He says, here is My shining glory, when I am lifted up. When I am lifted up, then I will draw all people to Myself, from darkness to light.

They did not believe; nevertheless some believed. They wanted the glory of people instead of the glory of God, but they believed. People do not believe; they do not come to the light; they love the darkness, rather than the light. Nevertheless, people believe. And you could not identify the moment. It is like a light switch being turned on. I would never, by my own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, and enlightened me with His gifts. I don’t remember it, because it happened when I was a month old. But maybe you became a Christian as an adult. All of a sudden, out of the blue, Jesus-the-good-teacher, or Jesus-just-a-man became “My Lord and my God!” He became the crucified and resurrected Son of God in flesh. You could not see it before, could not believe it, could not even understand it. And now, all of a sudden, you don’t know how you didn’t see it. And it’s all you can see.

Once you were darkness, Paul says, but now you have become light in the Lord. Walk as sons of light. Those who walk in the darkness stumble, and they do not know where they are going. Not so with you. You know where you are going, because you are following the Lord. And the Light of the world says that whoever is following Him does not walk in darkness, but has the light of life. If we walk in the light as He is in the light, then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

No doubt there is still darkness. It seems to get darker every day. The darkness of my own heart becomes more and more apparent. Maybe yours does too. Darkness of sin, darkness of death, darkness of grief, darkness of shame. Sometimes your vision gets cloudy, your sight grows dim. The Light of the world gets harder to see. But you have a promise from the Lord, that the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overtake it, like sunset does every day. For a moment, it appeared that the darkness had overtaken the Light, extinguished it, eclipsed it. The Son set in blood and death. And all was darkness. So it may seem for us. But on the third day, very early in the morning, the Son rose. The Light shines in the darkness, and it cannot be overcome. He cannot die anymore. If the Light always shines, and you have the Light of life, then the darkness will not overtake you, not forever. Even now, the darkness is passing away, because the true Light is shining, and will shine forever. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will not overtake it.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7, ESV). Amen.

– Pr. Timothy Winterstein, 3/23/24