“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who lived in a land of
deep darkness, on them light has shined.” We are those people. Before Jesus, we were
the people wandering in the dark, and we didn’t even realize it.
I have several sons, and those of you who have been there will relate to this. It was not at
all uncommon for me to come into a room in the early evening and find them reading a
book in the dwindling light. As the shadows lengthened, they kept reading, not realizing
that it had gotten darker and darker. When at last it became too much for me to watch, I
would flick on the light switch and they were startled by the brightness. They didn’t realize
that it was becoming harder and harder to see until the light came on and showed them
what they had been missing.
The coming of Jesus is a bit like that. We had been wandering in the darkness, and we
weren’t even aware of how dark it had become. We spend our time focusing on our own
lives, our own cares and concerns, and don’t spend much, if any, time looking outward.
And then the light comes on and we can’t ignore it. “What has come into being in him was
life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not overcome it.” This light shines into our inward focus and makes us realize
just how dark it has been.
The birth of Jesus brought light into a world that didn’t even know they were in darkness.
And it is that light that unites us all to this day. Many humans had tried to be the light, but
all had failed. God needed to find the one perfect human who could become the path for
our salvation. And since no human could accomplish this, God himself had to become
human. Jesus came to earth as one of us; the word made flesh.
“The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world; The life was the
light of all people.” In both of these statements, John is saying something quite
revolutionary. For unlike much of the Old Testament, unlike themes from other religious
traditions, John is telling us that Jesus came into the world not simply for the Jews, but for
everyone. All people, Jew and gentile, Roman and Greek, slave and free; Jesus came for
them all.
The ancient world was full of hatreds and distrusts. The Jews hated the Gentiles. The
Romans hated the Jews. The rich hated the poor and the feeling was very much
reciprocated. All felt that God was for them, and only them. Some Priests made a living by
feeding into this idea and reinforcing the idea that each of them was God’s elect, that God
had a special relationship with them and only them. And into this realm comes Jesus
Christ, God himself, preaching a message of grace, compassion, and love. Not just for
some, not just for those who looked like them, or talked like them, or thought like them,
but for everyone.
This Jesus who ate with sinners, healed lepers, conversed with women, tax collectors, and
Samaritans; this man came to bring light to all people, not just some people. This was
unheard of in the ancient world and was further proof that God himself had come into the
world. But many did not understand it, and, as often happens when something is
misunderstood, they feared it.
We see this in today’s world as well. Some religions seem to speak and act as though God
is there for them and only them. Even among the Christian churches it can be difficult to
find agreement on who is and is not saved by Jesus Christ. It is this sad tendency to exclude
some while including others that has been with us since the beginning of time. But that is
not why Jesus came. “The life was the light of all people.” John is explicitly telling us that
the light of the world came for all people, not just for some.
It doesn’t matter what language you speak. It doesn’t matter what country you are from.
It doesn’t matter what political beliefs you have. It doesn’t matter if you are a shepherd or
a corporate CEO. What matters is that Jesus came to earth for you. He willingly became
one of us in order to reconcile our sins with God.
Later in his ministry Jesus taught us that we are the light of the world. How can that be,
you may ask? By his coming to earth, Jesus, the true light of the world, became part of
each of us. The light of the world shines for each of us and shines IN each of us. The
question then is what do we do in response? How do we use the light of Jesus that is in
each of us? Do we show it to others and help to light their way, or do we keep it to
ourselves and hide it away? Are we perhaps a bit ashamed of the light in this increasingly
secular world?
Please don’t ever be afraid to share the light with others. The light of Jesus is the one and
only way to push back the darkness in which we live and sometimes don’t even see around
us. I have a friend who reminds us at the end of each mass to remember the poor in spirit,
for to them the light at the end of the tunnel may just be you. I think that perfectly sums
up what I am trying to say. Jesus is the light of the world, but that light is not meant for us
alone. We are not to put that light under a bushel basket and hide it from sight. No, we
are to let that light shine through us for all to see, so that the light of Jesus may light the
way for us and for others. In that way, all of the people walking in darkness can see the
great light and be changed forever.