The Greatest Light of the World

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. (John 1:1–8 ESV).

 

I’m sure that most of you have watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold. The segment of the movie that portrays him hanging all the lights and gathering the family for the great reveal is priceless. After the failure of the lights to come on when the final connection is made, he panics and searches everywhere for the one possible mistake. Ultimately there was no mistake. The plug had been disconnected at the source. It is coincidentally plugged in and as if by a miracle the house is ablaze with light. With shouts of joy and a “I knew you could do it Clark” from his Dad, everyone is happy.

 

You may remember the reading from yesterday (Genesis 1) as Moses records the creation with God creating light in the midst of the darkness. That reality invites us to wonder, “What would God do first to overcome the darkness? It starts with God’s first creative act: creating light in the midst of the darkness. The sun, moon, and stars will come later in the creation story. But at this point God simply creates light and then calls the light good! There is something incredibly beautiful about this creative act. The first act of creation sets the stage for everything that will follow in the rest of the Bible’s story: God is the one who makes something out of nothing. God is the one who creates light.

 

The Bible presents God as the one who pushed back the darkness with this first light. In a way, that’s what the first week of Advent is about. This is the declaration of the Apostle John in our reading today. So, as we anticipate celebrating Jesus’ birth, we wait in hope for God to create something new in us, to bring light into the darkest circumstances of our lives. The greatest of all Light has now come. Turn to Him today!