Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on Mon, 21/11/2011 – 11:21
Year A (2010-2011)
Bible Book: Genesis
Chapter: 1
Verse: 1 – 3
Genesis 1:3 God said, Let there be light, and there was light. God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness.
God created light. The first words spoken by God in the Bible are: let there be light. Light is good. Light is a gift of God to humankind.
Maybe there is a verse that stands even before Genesis 1:3 –
1 John 1:5 God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all.
We live in a world with many shadows and even darkness. The Bible often uses the symbol or figure of speech that sin and the effect of sin is like darkness.
We need more light than the sun can give us. OR: We need not only the light that comes from the sun God created but the light that comes from God Himself.
Psalm 4:6b Let the light of your face shine on us.
Revelation 22:22 (I could not see any temple in the city since the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were themselves the temple and) the city did not need the sun or the moon for light, since it was lit by the radiant glory of God, and the Lamb was a lighted torch for it.
Through his prophets God promised to send his servant that will bring true light to his people
Isaiah 42:6 I have made you a covenant of the people and light to the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison, and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.
Isaiah 49:6 He said, It is not enough for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel; I shall make you a light to the nations so that my salvation may reach the remotest parts of earth.
When Jesus came, John described Him with many metaphors – one of them was that Jesus is the light.
John 1:9 The Word was the real light that gives light to everyone; He was coming into the world.
Or: The true light, that which enlightens every man, was coming into the world.
Jesus said Himself that He is the light. Light that is life-giving.
John 8:12 When Jesus spoke to the people again, he said:
I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark but will have the light of life.
In the way John told the story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection he made use of the symbolism of light and darkness.
John 13:30 As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he went out. It was night.
John 20:1 It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb.
:6-8 Simon Peter, following him, also came up, went into the tomb, saw the linen clothes lying on the ground and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.
Having said al this, it is still true that we do not experience God’s light in every day of our lives and everywhere we go. The stories of many a child of God include times of darkness. Times when we are more aware of the darkness around us, or even in us, than the light. One can even say that once you have experience the light of God you become even more aware of darkness. Darkness that still exists in the world and the shadows in our hearts.
The history of nations and countries tells about times of darkness. The darkness of poverty, of war of oppression. The pandemic of HIV and AIDS that covers our country like a dark cloud, brings us in a time of darkness.
But for us who have seen the light, who have come to know the light, to become aware of darkness is not a time to panic. It is a time to draw nearer to the true light. It is a time to proclaim the light. It is a time to remember that God created light when there was only darkness. To remember that God sent his Son to us as the true light – the light that gives life. To remember that when it seemed that even this light stopped shining on the cross, it shone from the empty grave with a new splendour.
Now we can begin to understand what John said at the beginning of his Gospel when he described the coming of Jesus into this world as the true light that came into a dark world, not to be like a candle that eventually dies but to shine forth – to bring hope – to give life.
John 1:4,5 What has come into being in him was life. Life that was the light of men; and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it. Footnote: The Light cannot be imprisoned by Darkness.
This is not a physical statement. It is a spiritual truth: Jesus, the true light, is the One who overcomes darkness.
Author: du Toit N (Ds)
Language: English