Sermon in Minneapolis 03.02.2013

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, let us begin our services with opening prayer and thanksgiving. Holy and righteous God, our dear Heavenly Father, we again thank you this morning that we have been able to gather around your holy word.

Lord, we thank you for the gift of life and everything that you have bestowed upon us in our life. We thank you for this beautiful, bright, sunny, wintry day where the sunlight uplifts us and encourages us. But above all, today we can be uplifted and encouraged through your gospel message. That light which shines from the face of your Son, Jesus Christ, he who has paid that price of sin, opened the pathway to the glory of heaven.

So we ask that you would comfort and console us and feed us and nourish us and be with us now and always and protect us and keep us in your care. All of this we ask in the name of your dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Today is a special church holiday in the middle of the winter season. It's now 40 days after Christmas. And when Jesus was 40 days old, according to the law of Moses, the parents had to bring him into Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice on his behalf. And in connection with that offering of that sacrifice, old man Simeon was able to await the fulfillment and see that fulfilled promise that he will not die before he sees the Messiah.

Simeon rejoiced when he took the baby Jesus into his arms. And he said, "Now my eyes have seen your salvation." And this baby has been put as a light to the Gentiles and a brightness for the people of God. So today's theme is, Christ radiates God's glory or his brightness.

And today's epistle text is from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 4, which actually begins from chapter 3, but we will not read the entire portion. I'll read just the last three verses of the assigned text. So, 2 Corinthians 4, verses 4, 5, and 6:

"In whom, if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. In whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Amen.

If we were living near the North Pole or above, there they experience continual darkness basically for several months. And especially in Northern Norway, where the sun is setting around Christmas time, when it is the darkest time of the year, they have a certain festival, where they call it the festival of lights, where many and most of the lights in the city are illuminated to give a refreshing spark of hope and a little faint bit of light in the midst of the dark, deep winter.

So we can imagine ourselves being in a dark room where there are no windows or no lights. You wouldn't even be able to see your hand if you put it before your face. This is kind of the situation that it was like at the beginning of the world, before the world was created, and before God initiated His work of creation.

In the Genesis story of creation it says, "And the earth was without form, and it was void; and there was darkness upon the face of the deep." So all there was was darkness everywhere, not a spark of light. Yet however, the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

When God began His work of creation, the first thing He did on day one was this: "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." So now there was hope. There was light in the midst of darkness.

If we think of light in the general sense, without light there is no life. Imagine all of the plant life that we have here on this earth. It all exists because of light, which brings about and causes photosynthesis. And so light is so important. It is necessary for our life and life of all living things here on this earth.

But then it also says later on in the creation story on the fourth day, it talks about light which is a different light. And on the fourth day, God made two great lights: the greater light, or in other words, the sun, which would govern or rule the day; and the lesser light, or the moon, that would govern the night.

So on day one, the first thing God said was, "Let there be light." But yet on day four, could this have been millions of years later? As scientists have tried to calculate the time in between these days, we don't know, and it's not important to us. But it wasn't until the fourth day that He created the natural light which we need for life, natural life here on this earth: the sun, the moon, the stars, and all the luminary bodies and the celestial bodies there in the sky.

So we will talk about this first light which God created as we move on through this text. But when thinking about light in general, it is a very powerful symbol. And it symbolizes such things as holiness, righteousness. It pictures goodness, something that is true and pure. And it even indicates wisdom. Or it also refers to giving direction in life. Also it is sometimes referred to as having a purpose in life. Or it can refer to an understanding or our understanding that we receive. But also it refers to eternal life.

Now if we compare and contrast light and darkness with each other, darkness on the other hand refers to such things as death, sin, evil, something that is, or a person who is ignorant or ignorance. It also may refer to someone who is walking aimlessly in life. It can mean a person who is blind or blindness in general. But darkness can also signify eternal separation from God.

So when we are speaking about light, what does light mean to us? As we mentioned already, light has importance in the natural sense in this everyday life. For without light, there is no life. But on day one, God said, "Let there be light." And this is different than the natural light that we see and experience and feel around us. But the light which is referred to or being talked about on day one, "Let there be light," and there was light, and God separated the light from the darkness. This is referring to or it means spiritual light.

And this is one of the reasons this text was selected as a theme or a topic for this Sunday, where the topic is Christ radiates the brightness, or the glory of God.

We remember when the people of Israel were traveling through the wilderness journey. They had a guide that led them during the day, and another one that led them at night. And the Jews, the promised people of Israel, remembered those events as being so important that one of their great festivals, which was called the Feast of the Tabernacles, during that Feast of the Tabernacles, they would light candles or some lamps and bring them into the temple, reminding of that God, that guide that the people of Israel had during the forty years in the wilderness.

And during the night time, in the book of Exodus, it says that they were guided, they were led by a pillar of light. That was their guiding phenomenon. That was what gave them direction. That is what led them along the way during their wilderness journey.

So, what is this light? Now, when we think of light in the spiritual sense, without this light, there is no deliverance from sin. Jesus said himself that, "I am the light of the world. Whoever travels in me or with me does not travel in darkness, but they will have everlasting life," or the light of life.

So, when we think about the symbolism of light, it can mean healing. Healing from the sickness of sin. In the Gospel according to Saint John in chapter 9, when Jesus healed that man who was born blind, he spit into a clump of dirt that he picked up from the ground and made it into a muddy wad, or a muddy clump of dirt. And he rubbed that clump of dirt into that blind man's eyes. Then he told that blind man to go wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam. And when the man responded and did so, he had received his eyesight back again.

But before he embarked on this healing miracle, Jesus said the words of himself, that "I am the light of the world." And then to illustrate this fact, his healing power, he healed this man and gave him his eyesight back to him.

When we think of the symbolism, the symbol of light, it also means understanding. And especially in the spiritual sense, it means spiritual understanding. When Paul writes to the Ephesians, he writes to those recipients of his letter that they had the eyes of understanding of those who were enlightened. So the light of the Holy Spirit enlightened those believers' understanding and our understanding today.

And this is in contrast, especially to the words that are in our text, where it says in this way, and these were the beginning words of our text, "If our gospel is hid, it is hid from those who are lost." And why are they lost? Why are they blinded in the spiritual sense? Why can't they see? Paul continues, "Because in them the God of this world has blinded their mind, the minds of which cannot or do not believe, and preventing the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, and this glorious gospel of Christ is the image of God." And this is prevented from shining into their minds and into their hearts.

But then when we think of light, light is also used for giving direction. Thinking of sailors sailing across the dark sea, it was very important that they would take their direction from the northern star in the skies, or when they were nearing shore, there would be these lighthouses here and there, telling them not to come too close to shore, or warning them of the dangerous rocky coastline.

So the lighthouse was sending out a light beam, giving them direction, and warning them of dangerous obstacles that could be in their pathway.

So the psalm writer says in this way that the light, which is the word of God, the word of God, the Holy Bible, is a candle unto our way, and a light for our pathway.

So this light, the light of the Holy Word of God, the written and especially the spoken word of God, gives us direction and leads us along this narrow way of life in this dark world, and giving us direction toward our destination, the glory of heaven.

So the Bible says of God that God is light. And in the light there is no darkness at all.

So at the beginning of the world, everything was dark. It was void and without form. And then suddenly God began His work of creation, and He said, "Let there be light." And into that dark world shone a beam of bright light. And God separated the darkness from the light, or the light from the darkness.

When we think of being in a dark room or a dark area, we can't see anything around us. No obstacles or any dangerous things, or any clutter or litter. But if we turn on a light, or turn on a flashlight, we begin to see, or things are illuminated, which before were hid.

And likewise, when the light of the glory of God from the face of Christ Jesus is able to shine into our lives and into our hearts, it exposes things that perhaps we didn't realize or didn't notice that were there.

And in the light of the Holy Spirit in our lives, things have been lightened or illuminated and exposed, such as our evil thoughts and things such as maybe even revenge or lust or discord. And the Bible, or the Holy Spirit, teaches us and instructs us and maybe even exhorts us what to do in such a case.

So there is this bright light, the light of God, which shines here in this dark and evil and even cold world. But the problem is that there is this darkness of man here in this world.

And another epistle text for this Sunday, Candlemas Sunday, is from the first epistle of John in his first chapter, where John the Evangelist writes about this topic of light. And he says in this way that the light shined in the darkness and the darkness, or the unbelieving world, did not comprehend it.

And Jesus, writes John the Evangelist, was that light that lighted every man that came into this world.

So what John the Evangelist is saying, that every human being that is born or has been born into this world has been born with this spiritual light. In other words, saying that every child born into this world is born as one of God's own, a child of God and an owner and a possessor of the light through the Holy Spirit.

And so, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says in this way that you are the light of the world.

Now we remember that we don't have any light, and no human being has any light, spiritual light of themselves. So the source of light comes from the light of the world. And the light of the world is the light of the world. The ultimate source of light, which is God. The Bible says God is light. But Jesus said that I am the light of the world.

So when one by faith owns Christ Jesus, then they own and possess the source of light. Whoever travels in me does not travel in darkness, but they have the light. The light of life.

And so Jesus on the Sermon on the Mount says that you are the light and also the salt of the world. And you are like a candle on a candlestick which cannot be hid. And the entire kingdom of God is like a city that is lit upon a hill. And this light is to shine onto all men.

So when we think of we are children of the light and we are traveling in the light, what does that mean for us? What does that mean today? That means we are traveling under the guidance and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God.

And through the Holy Spirit, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to receive, own and possess the forgiveness of all sins. For Christ has that healing power.

And also light signifies or symbolizes giving direction. And the Holy Spirit is our guide along this way in the journey.

So when we walk in the light, it means that we walk living in accordance or according to the living word of God. If we walk in the light as He is in the light, then we also have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sins.

So it also refers to walking in the light means we have fellowship one with another. With the other brothers and sisters in living faith. The members of God's kingdom.

But the truth of the Bible is this, that we have all sinned and we have all fallen short of the glory of God. But yet the Bible says that in God there is no darkness at all.

So we can see that these two contrast with each other. We all sin and sin is referring to darkness as we referred to earlier. But in God there is no darkness at all.

And it is sin which separates a person, an individual from God. As the Old Testament prophet Isaiah says in this way when writing to the people of Israel, and these words are just as valid to the people of this time. Isaiah says that "Your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hid his face from you."

So sin separates an individual, a person from God. And your sins have separated God's face from you. So it causes this blindness and this complete separation from the fellowship of God. And therefore because of your sins and iniquities, God will not hear you. So dangerous is the substance of sins.

But then there is good news amidst all of this. For John the Evangelist writes in that other epistle portion which is a sign for today. If we can find it real quickly.

"If we say that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But on the other hand, if we say that we have no sin, if a person can raise their hand and say that they are sinless, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

So on the other hand it says if we have fellowship with God but yet we walk in the darkness we do not the truth. But then on the other hand it is saying that if we say that we don't have sin. If we are saying that we are sinless then we deceive ourselves and we have no truth in us. And we have no truth in us at all.

So it sounds like these two verses are in conflict with each other. So what is the hope? What is the solution? In the midst of these two portions.

And then John continues. "My little children, these things I write unto you, that you sin not."

So he is teaching us and exhorting us that don't sin. And if any man sins, as every human being does, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, so what is our source of help? What is the solution in all of this? John says, "If any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father."

So what is this word advocate? It could mean such things as calling someone to your side or having someone come and give you help or assistance. Especially in legal matters when you have to go to court you need a lawyer to defend you or to help you. He is your legal assistant. He is your advocate and he will be your counsel when you are trying to defend yourself. And he will plead for you on your behalf.

So this is what an advocate is. So this is the word that John is here using in his text that we have in the Bible an advocate with the Father, our Heavenly Father God the Almighty, and this advocate is Jesus Christ who is the righteous one.

So Jesus was one who came to our aid. He is the one who will plead on our behalf. He is the one who will give us assistance and help. But above all He was the one who was willing to die that we wouldn't have to die.

I told that little illustration when opening Sunday School this morning when today is Candlemas Sunday and Mary and Joseph, according to the laws of the Old Testament in the books of Moses, had to go offer their firstborn son. So the eldest born in the family male son had to be offered as a sacrifice under God. That was God's command.

So Mary and Joseph, when the boy was 40 days old, which is our Candlemas Sunday, took the little baby Jesus and were fulfilling God's command and they went to offer their son upon the altar. But on the way they bought a cage with two birds in it and typically they would offer a lamb but since they were poor this was the poor man's sacrifice. They could offer in place of a lamb an expensive lamb two pigeons or two turtle doves.

So that's what they purchased on the way. So we can imagine a cage with two doves inside. And when they reached the temple area they came to a certain point where the longer Mary could continue she had to stay in the woman's courtyard and only men could proceed.

So Joseph with that little cage continued into the inner courtyard into the area of the Holy where the altar was up maybe 15, 20, 30 feet higher, climbed the steps and there was the altar with the eternal flame burning. And he gives the baby Jesus into the arms of the priest signifying that I am now doing according to God's command that you can offer that child unto God as a sacrifice.

But then Joseph gave that cage with the two pigeons in it. And with that cage with the two pigeons he was able to redeem, Joseph was able to purchase or redeem the child, the living child back into his arms.

So the sacrifice was given in order that the baby wouldn't have to die. So this is what is being referred to that Jesus was our advocate.

So the priest opens the door to the cage and takes out the first pigeon. And with his knife he slits the throat of the pigeon and pours the blood into a basin. And then he takes that first pigeon whose throat was slit and he casts that first pigeon into the eternal flame that's burning on the altar and the bird burns up and is disintegrated.

But then the priest opens up the cage a second time and takes that second pigeon out. And with that same knife he slits the rope which is tying the feet of the pigeon so it couldn't fly away if it escaped. And he takes it and he washes it in the blood that he captured from the blood of the first pigeon there in that silver basin. And then he releases that second pigeon, that bloody second pigeon, to fly as a free bird into the blue skies and into the heavens.

So the first bird was offered so that the second bird would be released and would be free. Joseph first gave Jesus into the hands of the priest to be a sacrifice that would die. But he was able to redeem that child back when he gave those two birds as an offering.

But now Jesus 33 years later was there basically in the same general area in Jerusalem but outside of the city walls. He was now like that first pigeon whose throat was slit and the blood was drained into that silver basin and he, like that first pigeon, outstretched his hands which were nailed to the cross of Golgotha. And his feet were nailed. And then a soldier came and pierced that spear into his side and John the Evangelist said that blood poured forth from those wounds.

And we could imagine in the spiritual sense that blood was captured in a silver basin and the blood flowed until there was no more blood left of his wounds.

So Jesus now was offered as a sacrifice so that you and I wouldn't have to be one of death's own prepared for condemnation in hell. Jesus, like that first bird that was thrown into the flame, descended into hell after he died on the cross but rose from the grave on the third day for our righteousness' sake.

And so he is our advocate and he will be our advocate if we are faithful unto the end. He will be our advocate if we, according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit continually, daily, put out that old man.

And he is our advocate as Jesus says or John writes in this way: "If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we then will have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all sins."

So this is our promise. This is our wish and this is our desire that we could yet today and always be children of the light and be following in the light having fellowship one with another being guided by the Holy Spirit.

But in this dark world we feel and experience that often and many times sin attaches, clings and makes the journey slow but the guidance of the Holy Spirit instructs us that all is not lost but we can approach the mercy seat, the throne of grace where we can hear from another or sister, son and daughter, "Be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven unto you."

And so Peter writes in his epistle in this way that we are of this royal priesthood, we are a chosen nation, we are a peculiar people and we have been called from darkness into this marvelous light.

And this is that light in which we wish to remain and be preserved in through the power of the gospel which leads us and guides us, protects us on this narrow way and will bring us one day to the glory of heaven.

Be of good cheer, sins are forgiven in his name and precious atonement blood in Jesus' name. Amen.