Testifying to the Light
Rev. Mark Schaefer
Kay Spiritual Life Center
December 11, 2005
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28
Isaiah 61 1 ¶ The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion — to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory. 4 They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
8 ¶ For I the LORD love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the LORD has blessed. 10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.1 Thessalonians 5 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise the words of prophets, 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.
23 ¶ May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.John 1 6 ¶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
19 ¶ This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said.
24 ¶ Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
I. BEGINNING
My father is a retired art teacher. One of the things I enjoy whenever he comes to visit me here in Washington is when we go to the National Gallery on the Mall. With my father, it’s kind of a required stop, but I don’t mind, because I always learn so much whenever I go with him. He sees things in paintings that I do not. He understands the craft as well as the art.
The last time we went, they had an exhibit of Dutch masters and it was amazing. Some of these paintings were so lifelike, you could swear they were photographs. Still lifes with fruit so real looking you’d swear you could reach right out and grab it. One of the things my father would always point out when looking at a painting like that is the artist’s use of light. Especially how light contributes to realism.
It’s amazing to think that there was a time when artists never thought to include such fundamental things as light and perspective to their art. Everything was a flat, even depiction that could not adequately capture reality.
II. THE TEXT: JOHN
Light plays such a prominent role not only in art but in scripture as well, especially in the Gospel of John. In the New Testament, there are more references to light in John’s gospel than anywhere else.
John 1:9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
John 8:12 ¶ 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.”
John 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
John 12:36 While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”
John 12:46 I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.
In John’s Gospel, light stands for Truth. Light stands for the way of life. Light stands for Christ.
Jesus is synonymous with the light that ‘enlightens everyone’ and ‘the light of the world.’
Even as late as the 90s, when John’s gospel was likely written, there were still followers of John the Baptist. John makes it clear in his gospel that John the Baptist was not a rival to Jesus, but was the Forerunner: “He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.” But then he adds (just in case any of those followers of the Baptist might be around): “He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.”
III. LIGHT
This is no small thing, to “testify to the light”. In a way, testifying to the light is what the life of the Christian is all about. It is about standing up to a world covered in darkness and proclaiming the power of light. That light that God spoke into existence at the beginning of creation. That light that Christ becomes at the beginning of the New Creation.
The light we proclaim is a lot like the light of an artist’s brush: it helps us to see a reality more real than we could have imagined. The light of Christ helps us to see the world in a new way, as it was intended to be. It is like the difference between a flat medieval painting and a brilliant still life by a Dutch master. The painting that incorporates light presents a reality clearer, more beautifully than we could have thought possible. So it is with Christ: Christ is the light that helps us to see our reality more clearly, more beautiful than we could have imagined before. The reality we see is as different as a Dutch still life from a flat, medieval painting.
IV. ISAIAH: TESTIFYING TO THE LIGHT
A. Isaiah
But how exactly does one testify to the light? Isaiah gives us a clue. Isaiah, the book in which the most references to light exist in the entire Bible, which begins its 60th chapter with the words “Arise, shine for your light has come” continues in the 61st with the words we read earlier. According to Luke’s gospel, it is with the reading of these words from Isaiah at the synagogue in Nazareth that Jesus begins his ministry. Luke thus frames Jesus’ whole life and ministry in the terms set out by Isaiah. They define the Christian message—our testimony about the light:
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed…
When we speak out and work for justice, to lift the mantle of oppression, we testify to the light.
to bind up the brokenhearted…
When we offer hope to those who have none—the Hebrew word for ‘brokenhearted’ means more like ‘shattered-hearted’—one who has been crushed and beaten—when we comfort those whose very spirits have been trampled upon, we testify to the light.
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners…
When we visit those who are imprisoned: not only in physical prisons of the justice system, but those who are imprisoned by their own fear, their own bigotry, their own prejudices, when we offer them a way out of that bondage, we testify to the light.
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God…
This is an eschatological statement—that is, a statement about the end of history—the Year of the Lord’s Favor. It is a statement not about retribution but about God’s eventual victory, about the coming of the Kingdom of God, the reign of peace and justice in our midst. When we proclaim that God’s deliverance is assured, that peace and justice will reign, we testify to the light.
to comfort all who mourn; 3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion — to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit…
When we reach out to those who are in need. Those who mourn and are in pain. When we reach out with words of comfort and hope—tidings of comfort and joy—we testify to the light.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, to display his glory. 4 They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
Second Isaiah is certainly contemplating the restoration of the destroyed cities of Judah after the Babylonian exile—but his words are no less powerful and relevant today. Those of us anointed to preach the good news—those of us who testify to the light—will be called oaks of righteousness, in whom others will see the glory of God. We may not have cities ruined by the conquest of foreign empires, but we certainly have cities ruined by poverty, violence, economic injustice, and fear. When we testify to the light, we do more than simply talk a good game, we are instrumental in repairing the brokenness in our communities, the “devastations of many generations.”
B. Our World
A little over ten years ago, in Billings, Montana, the town was being subjected to a number of hate crimes. One night, a rock was thrown through the bedroom window of a Jewish family that had hung Hanukkah decorations in the windows. The terrorized family wondered whether it would be better to just take down their menorah. One woman in town, a mother and the part-time director of the Montana Association of Churches, read of the attacks in the paper and wondered what it would be like for her to have to tell her children that they couldn’t have a Christmas tree. She spoke with her pastor, who had also read of the attacks in the paper, and they had the Sunday school kids draw menorahs that would be copied and distributed. The pastor spent the afternoon enlisting the help of other churches.
The Billings Gazette published a picture of the menorah that people could clip out and put in their window. Menorahs started appearing in the windows of homes. The forces of hate lashed out—windows were broken at a United Methodist Church that had menorahs on display. Shots were fired into a Catholic church. Cars vandalized in front of peoples homes displaying the menorah. But with every attack, the number of menorahs grew. It is estimated that as many as 6,000 homes had menorahs in the window that year. There are only 50 Jewish families in Billings. (Read the complete story here)
The Christians in Billings understood what it was to testify to the light. A point made all the more powerful by the fact that they should use the menorah–the lampstand–as a symbol of that light.
In the 1988 presidential campaign, George H.W. Bush said that he wanted to look out across the U.S. and see “a thousand points of light”—each light standing for an act of charity or compassion. While this statement received a fair amount of kidding from Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live, it eventually became the name of a foundation, and represented that President’s wishes for a “kinder, gentler America”. How many Christians are in this country? Two hundred million or so? Why are there not 200,000,000 points of light when we look out across this country? Or why not two billion points of light when we look out across our world? Imagine what the world would look like if every Christian could shine the light of Christ, by testifying to the light.
V. THE LIGHT AMID DARKNESS
A. The Date of Christmas
This is the third Sunday in Advent. We are rapidly approaching Christmas—only two weeks away from today. You know, there is no date given in the scriptures for Jesus’ birth. There is much debate as to when Jesus would have been born. Some scholars look at clues from the text, such as “shepherds watching over their flocks by night” and conclude that Jesus was born in the spring. There is very little evidence in any event.
There is, however, reason to believe that the celebration of Jesus’ birth on the 25th of December is not an accident. As strange as it is to us today, the early Christians didn’t really make a big deal about the birth of Christ. They were more concerned with the death and resurrection of Jesus. By the time that they decided it would be something to commemorate, there wasn’t very much information about the date. Very likely, they picked a date on which they could celebrate Jesus’ birth without drawing too much attention to themselves from Roman authorities. The date they picked–December 25—was the Saturnalia, a Roman holiday. But I think there is more going on here than just cover in case Roman officials were snooping around. The 25th was the celebration of the Winter Solstice—the shortest day of the year. That is, it is the day when the light is the shortest. Is it a coincidence that the early Christians should celebrate the birth of Christ at a time when the light can only increase in the world? Perhaps. Perhaps not.
B. The Increase of Light
But the point is made either way. With the coming of Christ, the light is only on the increase.
It reminds us that Christ can come into our lives even when things seem their darkest. Even when we feel that the world itself is against us, that there is no hope, even then Christ can come into our lives. Christ can enter our hearts and give us hope.
VI. END
This is the light we testify to. A light that changes the way we see the world. A light that gives hope. A light that illumines everyone. And a light that can come into our hearts at any moment, even when things seem their darkest.
A light that we are called to testify to—to share with a world in darkness. A light that changes the way we view the world–like the artist’s use of light in a painting–helping us to see the world as God intended it to be.
