1 John 1:5-7
On Easter day we celebrated the inauguration or birth of the Kingdom of God on earth, as it is in heaven. It is also called the Kingdom of Light.
We again are looking at John, but not the gospel this morning, but his first letter to the Church, and only three verses of it.
Now we’ve often spoken of how John uses great ‘opposites’ to show the utter holiness of God. Good and evil, belief and non-belief, but his most common is, I think, light and dark, night and day.
This is because this light that John writes about, is not just a metaphor, but a spiritual reality. Jesus really is the light of the world.
The first thing in creation is created by the Word of God – light. And John writes in his gospel that this light is the light of life, this light is Christ himself.
The pure and sheer grace of our Lord Jesus, died and resurrected, comes to us as light, in the sense that we finally see it as the great redemptive act of God that it is.
As Jesus urged the Greeks who wanted to ‘see’ him in the final days of his earthly life – well look on me and be healed!
Light is such a central metaphor in our faith. Jesus being the light of the world, the distinction between light and darkness in spirituality, Paul urges us to put on the armour of light and we are children of the light, as well as the many, many uses of candles in our acts of worship.
I want to spend some time this morning thinking about this idea of the light of God.
This idea of God as true light is really important for us as we try, as human beings, to comprehend our relationship to God and how he interacts with us as people and the world he has created.
And in our reading this morning from John’s letter we hear, “This is the message we have heard from him [Christ] and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all ... but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).
For John, the idea that God is light, and that Jesus is the light of the world is fundamental to his Christian understanding. And, in a real sense, our mission as Christians is to introduce people to the light, which is God, and Jesus Christ the Son of God, who is the light of the world.
But what does John mean when he calls God ‘the light’? There are a couple of things I think.
Firstly God as light brings good news. Light is a very positive concept: it provides optimism and good feelings: not just is a worshipping sort of way, but in living life as well.
Enjoying warm weather and long days, welcoming light after a sleepless night, or leaving a light on for the kids at night so they can sleep better. Light is good news for our spirits and cheers us up.
And so, when John refers to God as the light, there is a real sense of optimism and good news about that. Light in itself is a good thing!
Why is light so important for us? Well, for a whole host of reasons but primarily because it helps us to reach what we need.
There is a certain threat in the darkness. There can be danger in the darkness. We can trip over in the dark or lose our way.
There are times in our lives when it just feels like we are shrouded in deep darkness. Perhaps when we are sick, or we have lost someone we love, or we have financial worries or employment worries, or when a relationship is breaking down.
There are times in our lives when we cry out for light to dispel the darkness.
And I can’t offer any easy answers to this, except to say the light of God shone by Christ is good news. The very best news!
Light can and does and will come into our darkest moments because God loves us unfathomably and can only come to us as light. This is very good news!
Now when light comes, it creates shadows and so we live with the shadows for the rest of our lives, yet live in the light. The shadows are being overcome by the light and this is very good news.
When God is the light in our world, we can be led safely through our days and head with confidence and optimism to our destination, which is to live life in all its fullness with him.
Light is the promise of hope and joy and in God there is no darkness at all.
Secondly, as I touched on briefly, John urges us to live in the light, because “if we live in the light – just as he is in the light – then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from every sin” (1:7).
Living in the light is the opposite of living in darkness. When we are in the light, we see things for what they are, we see God for who he is, we learn to love others for who they are.
It is only through living in the light, that we can have fellowship with each other, which is the very heart of God’s desire for us.
Walking in the light is a transformative experience that fills our life with love and compassion and grace. And when we want that for ourselves, we want that for other people, and we want that for our community here in Drayton.
That we would be a community marked by love, compassion and grace. Because these are the hallmarks of Christ’s character, we too then shine as the light of the world.
This is what Joh calls “fellowship with one another”.
Fellowship is based on the true meaning of the word ‘hospitality.’ It does not mean inviting friends over for a meal. The meaning of the word is to go out of one’s way to care for the material needs of another. Being family to each other and the Good Samaritan to others.
God has shown hospitality towards us. And, in a sense, fellowship is the living out of hospitality. When we live in fellowship with one another, we love one another and are prepared to live with each other’s failings, we practice forgiveness, constantly. We encourage one another in life and in the faith, we share our lives with one another.
So how has God shown this same hospitality to us so lavishly? Through “the blood of Jesus, his Son, [which] purifies us from every sin” (v.7).
The greatest act of hospitality was the death of Jesus on the cross, his resurrection and his ascension through which we have been invited into the very heart of God. The greatest act of hospitality is that you and I have been invited to become children of God.
And this is our ultimate desire, not only for ourselves, but for all those we love and for the Drayton community; that more and more people will live in the light of God and know what it is to live as children of God.
So this passage reminds us that God is light is whom there is no darkness at all. This light is our dear Lord Jesus, and we are called to walk in his light. When we do so, darkness is dispelled and we experience peace, hope and joy.
Our fellowship life increases, our hospitality increases, our experience of living as children of God increases and we grow ever deeper into the great hospitality of God.... let me pray.