Church of the Holy City

The Light Shines in the Darkness

The Light Shines in the Darkness
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
April 5, 2015
Easter Sunday

John 1:1-18 Mark 16:1-8 Psalm 118

In our reading from John, we heard a short poem about the entire life of Jesus. It is put at the beginning of John’s Gospel, as if it was a birth story, but it really covers the entire life and mission of Jesus. Talking about Jesus’ birth, John says, “The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world” (1:9). Then there is a verse that seems to stand for all time, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it” (4).
I would like to speak today about this eternal verse. This eternal truth that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. I want to call attention to an important Greek word. This word is very hard to translate into English. In the translation I read, the verse says that the darkness has not overcome the light. In the King James Version, it says that the darkness has not comprehended it. And in a third translation it says that the darkness has not understood it. So one Greek word has been translated as, overcome, comprehended, and understood. The word in question is katalambano. This is a very strong word. It means to violently seize. Another translation is to grasp. Maybe this word is the best translation. What does it mean to grasp something? It means to understand something. “I can’t grasp the meaning of this word.” And it also means to grab something. “I grasped his arm.” The Greek word means both. It means to understand something. And it also means to seize something by force.
I want to talk about both these meanings of the word katalambano–to grasp with the mind and to grasp physically by force. Both these meanings relate to Jesus. The angry mob tried to overcome Jesus by force on Good Friday. But also the forces of darkness cannot understand Jesus and His message. They don’t grasp what Jesus means, why He came, and what He brings to humanity. In fact, that is the very language Jesus uses when He forgives the mob who has seized Him and led Him away to be crucified. Jesus says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
Easter is the culmination of the greatest story that begins with Christmas and ends with Good Friday and Easter. The birth of Jesus on Christmas points toward this joyous culmination on Easter. On Easter Day Jesus rose from the dead and united His Humanity forever with God. In the resurrected Jesus Christ God and Man became One Person. Through the risen Divine Humanity of Jesus, the light continues to shine in our hearts and minds.
Christmas is the biggest Christian celebration these days. And it deserves joyous celebration as it commemorates that day when the light came into the world. And Jesus’ life on earth and His teachings follow that miraculous birth. But I think that Easter should be bigger than Christmas. Because it was for the purpose of rising up from the grave and uniting Himself with God that Jesus came into the world. As the living God-Man in the resurrected Jesus Christ, now the light shines forever into the world and into the hearts of all who accept Jesus.
Last Friday was Good Friday. And Good Friday brings us back to our opening remarks. On Good Friday, Jesus was crucified. All of nature grieved at the death of the light. Luke tells us that there was darkness over the whole land; that the sun stopped shining. The curtain of the temple in Jerusalem that separated God from the people was torn apart.
The forces of darkness thought that they could extinguish the light. They thought that by getting rid of Jesus, they could silence Him forever. The chief priests of the Jewish religion saw Jesus as a political threat, and wanted Him out of the way. The forces of darkness thought that by crucifying Jesus, they could put a stop to His teachings and the joy He brought to humanity.
But they were wrong. The light shined, continued to shine, continues to shine. They could not overcome the light. Jesus lived, continued to live, continues to live. With joy and astonishment, Jesus’ Apostles met the risen Jesus in person. And over the next decades, people remembered Jesus’ life and the things He said. They remembered the teachings that brought light to a dark world. They remembered the person who brought life to a spiritually dead society. And they wrote down the words and the life of the Light of the World. Jesus lives! Praise Jesus!
The efforts to extinguish the light were responses of ignorance. Many people in Jesus day, perhaps most, didn’t really understand who Jesus was. The mob turned against Jesus because He didn’t come as a conquering king and drive out the Romans. They turned against Jesus because He didn’t make Jerusalem a light to the whole world–a nation-state to which all the countries of the world would pay tribute. The leaders of the Jews didn’t understand Jesus’ teachings. They saw Jesus as a threat to the way they thought religion should be practiced. And indeed, He was, as Jesus’ understanding of religion was much different than the legalism and the temple cult of Judaism back then. They saw Jesus as a threat because Jesus had such a massive following.
But there was enough in Jesus’ words that people did see light in His teachings. People flocked to Jesus and followed Him. They felt something powerful in this teacher-healer. The light may have shined in the darkness, but that light was growing more bright by each day.
The way John words his verse about the light is important. John says, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness hasn’t grasped it.” He says that the light shines! He doesn’t say that the light shined. He doesn’t say that the light only shined when Jesus walked the earth. He says that the light shines in the present tense. The light still shines! Alleluia!
The same light that shined in Israel 2,000 years ago shines today. The same Jesus who walked the earth in Israel 2,000 years ago lives even now. Christ has risen from the dead and lives! He can come to us anywhere, at any time. He can walk beside us in our work lives. He can rest with us in our times of repose. He can enlighten our minds when we seek direction. He can enkindle the flame of love in our hearts when we do good deeds to our neighbor. The darkness hasn’t overcome the light.
There are some signs that seem to suggest that the light is being extinguished today. Church attendance is declining. Mainline denominations are closing their doors. Knowledge of basic teachings of the Bible are appallingly low. It looks like people don’t have a place for church in their lives anymore. People in my position, and many believers, wonder about the state of society.
But do these frightening facts mean that the light has stopped shining? Do these facts mean that the darkness is finally overcoming the light? I can’t believe that. I believe that the light still shines.
It may be that there is light outside the walls of organized religion. There are spiritual people who have been turned off by organized religion. There have been churches who teach harsh doctrines that thinking people can’t accept; that feeling people can’t stomach. There may well be good numbers of people who consider themselves spiritual but not religious. There are organizations like AA that are spiritual, in which practitioners find a God of their own understanding.
The light shines. Darkness hasn’t overcome it. Darkness cannot overcome it. Darkness outside of church walls won’t overcome the light. Darkness inside church walls won’t overcome the light. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it.”

PRAYER

Lord, this Sunday we think about the joy of your arrival in Jerusalem. We think of the joy you bring to us when we let you into our hearts. But in a short week, the people of Jerusalem turned against you. May we remain faithful to you in our lives and in our beliefs. You are our savior. Besides you, there is no God. May we always hold a place for you in the centre of our life. May we hold a place for love in the centre of all our affairs. And may we empty our hearts of anger and resentment and open the chambers of our hearts for your Spirit, Love, and forgiveness.

And Lord, we pray for the sick. May they experience the power of your healing love. Fill them with the grace of your healing power. We pray for the grace of your healing power for all who are ailing in body or soul.