So this week I was sick and missed both worship services...but if I hadn't been ill, this is something like what you would have heard:
Our family has a story that goes back to the family farm in Sherburne. It was around the time that electricity was beginning to get to small rural communities and people were switching over from kerosene lamps to electic lights. According to my great, great aunt Maude, the women of the family were very "tidy" and worked hard to make sure the house was always in "proper" condition (this coming from a woman who lived her professional life as head operating room nurse at Wilson Hospital). As Maude told it, when electricity finally came to the farm, the family was appalled at the "filth" that they found all over the house. Places where the light of day never shone brightly were now illumined by brighter electric lights, and what was revealed was dirt, soot, and residues left behind by the old kerosine lamps everywhere. Aunt Maude said it took them weeks to clean up the house, and get every nook and cranny thoroughly clean. She also mentioned a family over the hill that got electric around the same time as our family. Apparently they too were overwhelmed by the amount of cleaning they had in store once the house was fully illumined by the electric lights, but instead of setting about the task of cleaning, they went back to kerosene lamps!
Our Hebrew Bible lesson today, Genesis 12:1-3, presents God's call of Abram (soon to become Abraham) and God's promise that "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Abram)." This blessing by many Jews was thought to come through the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. The apostle Paul, in Galatians 3:15-18, interprets this blessing not to come through a nation, but rather through the person of Jesus Christ, God's only son. It is this latter interpretation that I will be focussing on. Our Gospel lesson, John 3:16-21, reveals the culmination of that blessing, Jesus and the promise of light and eternal life. Unfortunately many people stop with verse 16 and never get to the part about Jesus being a light in a dark world. Certainly John 3:16 is one of, if not the most famous passages in scripture, but to stop there is to miss the fullness of the good news. In this passage Jesus is not only proclaiming a life after death, but a fuller and truer life now!
Jesus' light is one that reveals the darkness (sin and ignorance) in our own lives. That is why Jesus proclaims that some shy away from the light, for fear that it will reveal their evil deeds. There are none who when brought into the light are found without blemish. We all are sinners, we all have sinned. The good news offered to each and every one of us, is that light which reveals our sin. Once revealed, we are given the opportunity "tidy up a bit", we are given the chance to not only deal with our misgivings, but to have them forgiven.
Lent is a perfect time to not only allow yourself to move closer toward the light of Christ, but also begin to clean up some of the "messes" that are revealed once you do move into that light. Taking time to pray, read your bible, spend time with Christians, and take a closer look at your life in general will all allow you to not only move closer into the light, but will also give you direction toward the task of cleaning up the dark corners that will certainly be revealed.
The final question then is not if you have walked in darkness, but rather what will you do once the light illumines those dark corners of your life? Will you take the time and clean up those "messes" or will you turn from the light and go back into darkness?
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
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