“I AM the Light of the World”
John 8:12

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Fourth Sunday in Lent—March 22, 2020

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

We continue our Lenten Sunday sermon series on the great “I AM” statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John:

“I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life”

“I AM the Door”

“I AM the Resurrection and the Life”

“I AM the True Vine”

“I AM the Bread of Life”

“I AM the Good Shepherd”

This morning we consider Jesus’ declaration in today’s Gospel Reading: “I AM the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

I think I may have a mild case of Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as “SAD.” This condition, brought on by a lack of sunlight, affects many people to some degree during the winter months.  I probably inherited it; my mother called it “feeling blue.”  Fortunately, it’s not debilitating for me, as it is for some, and I’m able to treat it myself by exposure to sunlight.  It took my wife a few years to figure out that at a restaurant in the wintertime I naturally gravitate to sitting right in the sunniest spot.

However, there is another condition which is even more “SAD,” a spiritual condition that afflicts all of humanity, and not just for a season, but throughout our lives.  You could call it “Sin Affective Disorder.”  As Paul says in Galatians, “Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin.”

Like Seasonal Affective Disorder, “Sin Affective Disorder” is also caused by a lack of “Son-light.”  Not “S-U-N,” but “S-O-N.”  “Sin Affective Disorder,” that even more “SAD” spiritual condition that afflicts us all, is caused by a lack in our hearts and lives of light from the Son of God.

It is very significant that the first thing God does in the Bible is pronounce, “Let there be light.”  Throughout Scripture, light is symbolic of God’s presence and blessing and goodness.  Darkness, on the other hand, is symbolic in the Scriptures of sin and wickedness and evil. 

Jesus puts it this way: “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”  In Ephesians, Paul says of us sinful humans, “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God.”  Hell itself is described by Peter and Jude as “blackest darkness,” and by Jesus as, “The darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 

“Sin Affective Disorder” is fatal, if left untreated resulting in eternal death and damnation.  In Galatians, Paul explains that “Sin Affective Disorder” is for all of us completely debilitating spiritually.  I’ve figured out how to treat my Season Affective Disorder myself, but it is impossible for us to treat “Sin Affective Disorder” ourselves, with a self-devised treatment plan of good works.  “For by observing the law no one will be justified. . .  All who rely on observing the law are under a curse.”

Won’t it be wonderful when they find a cure for coronavirus? In today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus prescribes the cure for “Sin Affective Disorder”: “I am the Light of the World.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  In English, the ancient Biblical symbolism of darkness representing sin and light bringing salvation comes through in our words “enlighten” and “enlightenment.”  Jesus is the source of true “enlightenment.” This imagery, of Jesus shattering the darkness of our sin, is a central theme throughout the New Testament.

“In him was life,” John’s Gospel begins, “and that life was the light of men. . . The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

“I have come into the world as a light,” Jesus says “so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

“For you were once darkness,” Paul says in Ephesians, “but now you are light in the Lord.”

“Declare the praises of him,” Peter says, “who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Paul beautifully sums up this imagery in Colossians: “The Father has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Jesus came into this world on a rescue mission, for you.  He has rescued you from the dominion of darkness and brought you into his kingdom of light.  In him you have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Doesn’t it feel during this virus outbreak like we’re waiting for the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel?  And you know each of us has our own long, dark tunnels in our lives.  Perhaps the long, dark tunnel of illness, or the long, dark tunnel of financial difficulties, or the long, dark tunnel of problems at work or school, or the long, dark tunnel of struggles within your family or marriage.

“Arise, shine,” Isaiah proclaims, “for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. . .  Your sun will never set again . . . the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.”

The light at the end of the tunnel is here! Jesus shatters the depressing darkness of this world’s tribulations by overwhelming that darkness with the light of everlasting life.  As Paul says in Romans, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.”

Jesus shatters even the final darkness of death.  Martin Luther says in a sermon for Christmas Day, “For us the time must come when suddenly all will be darkness.”  We will all one day be shrouded in that final darkness.  But, for you and all who trust in him, dying is like going to sleep, and you will awaken from the darkness of death to the everlasting light of heaven.  “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

During the winter months especially I crave sunlight. When we built a new church at my last call, I made sure my new study there had a great big window facing south, so I could soak in the winter sun.  Some visitors to my study at the parsonage here have expressed surprise that the computer desk, where a lot of my work is done these days, is right in front of a window, with me facing the bright sunlight.

Exposure to the light of the sun is the only real treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder.  In the same way exposure to the light of the Son, “S-O-N,” the spiritual light of the Son of God, is not just a treatment but the everlasting, eternal cure for “Sin Affective Disorder.” As the book of Malachi says, “The Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing in his wings.” 

Bask in the healing light of the Son of God.  By reading, studying and hearing his Word; by Holy Baptism, through which you are born again as his child; by Holy Communion, through which he gives you his own body and blood, shed for you for the forgiveness of all your sins; by Holy Absolution, when through his minister Christ proclaims to you, “I forgive you all your sins”; by going to the Lord in prayer; by worshipping here in his house. 

Bask in the healing light of the Son of God.  He is your everlasting, eternal cure for “Sin Affective Disorder.”  “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”