Readings:
Sermon:
“In the beginning was the Word.”
We hear this at Christmas – in the Lectionary it is the one Gospel passage that must be read at some point on Christmas Day, and it is often the final reading at a traditional Carol Service.
But what is the word that was used at the very beginning of everything?
Well, according to the first chapter of Genesis, the first words spoken by God were ‘Let there be light!’
Light was the very first thing to be called into existence.
At this time of year when much of the nature that is around us here in Britain is dormant and the skies are often grey and gloomy, the gradually lengthening days mean that a few green shoots are beginning to appear. Spring is on the way – but that is only possible because the longer days mean there is more light.
Nothing grows on earth without the influence of light – either directly through photosynthesis or indirectly through consuming plants or herbivores. Physical existence depends on light.
Spiritual existence too is light dependent. It depends on Jesus Christ – the Light of the World. As St John says in today’s Gospel reading, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all people.”
Even more than that, both St John and St Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, tell us that it is not just humans that exist because of Jesus but it is all things – in heaven, on earth, things seen and things unseen. Everything exists because of Jesus.
So human life, both physical and spiritual, exists because of Christ.
Maybe you’ve recently been to, or joined in online or on TV with, a service where candles were used – perhaps at Christmas, for a Christingle Service or last week at Candlemas. Those candles, and those used on and around altars, are a physical and visual reminder of the presence and influence of Jesus in our lives today.
Christians are called to react to that influence in how they live, in how they interact with other people and in how they interact with God.
Later in the Gospel of John, in the passage that describes the Last Supper, Jesus is preparing his disciples for the time when he will no longer be with them and he uses one of the laws of Moses that they will know very well, “Love your neighbour as yourself”. But Jesus adds a new standard to that law. He says “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Jesus’ whole life had been about showing humanity how to live, how to pray, how to worship – how to love God and how to love one another. This perfection is what Christians strive for every day.
Loving one another as Jesus loves us does not mean you have to agree with someone else’s choices or way of life. It does mean accepting them as a fellow human being, it does mean praying that God’s will for them may be fulfilled (as we pray whenever we use the Lord’s Prayer). And it does mean doing everything in your power to ease any suffering.
As humans we will inevitably fall short of that perfection, but Jesus’ love – God’s love – is so great that we are forgiven. We say sorry and we try again.
This is the salvation that a life following Jesus brings and there’s a reminder of it each time a candle is used in worship.
A candle flame pointing to Jesus, the Light of the World.
Jesus, who is the Word from the very beginning – even before physical light existed.
Questions:
- When do you feel the influence of Jesus most deeply?
- How can a candle flame help you during worship or during prayer?
- Where can you see green shoots appearing? Next time you see one perhaps thank God for the light.