Read to 1 John 1 and Genesis 1:1-4 to start
Are you familiar with the song “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel? While I enjoy the song, it’s not exactly a cheerful tune; it’s about social isolation and alienation. Although it’s more than 60 years old, it feels even more relevant now than it did in the 1960s. I mention it this morning because we’re going to be talking about darkness and light this morning, and that song starts with the line “Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you again.”
Let’s get one thing straight right off the mark — darkness is not your friend. Oh, you might be friendly with darkness, you might be comfortable with it, but certainly darkness will be as comfortable and accommodating as you want it to be, but it’s not your friend. A friend wants good things for you, and darkness does not.
But what even is darkness? From a physics perspective, there is no such thing as darkness. Yes, I know what you’re probably thinking, then what exactly happens when the sun goes down, because it while seems to get dark rather late this time of year, everyone would say that it’s darker at midnight than it is at noon. But it would be more accurate to say rather than it is dark, to say that there is less light. Because that’s all that darkness really is, the absence of light.
It’s bright in here, the lights are on, as you can see if you look up, but even if someone turned the lights off, it would still be half decently bright, because there’s sunlight coming through the windows. How much sunlight is going to vary based on whether or not it’s a cloudy day, but even on a day with heavy cloud cover, much of the sunlight still comes though and makes things visible. You can read outside at noon even on the most overcast of days. It doesn’t get truly dark until the sun goes down, or rather, until the earth turns enough so that we are on the side away from the sun.
At my work, one of the product lines we make and sell is marine displays. One of the important specifications is brightness, how much light it puts out, because that is a key factor for how visible it will be in sunlight. You need a bright display if you want to be able to see it on a boat on a sunny day. We measure that with a device called a photometer, it’s something I use fairly often. It measures the luminance of a display in candelas per square meter.
The light bulbs you see overhead, those are rated in lumens, how much light they output. Higher number, more light. You don’t measure darkness, you measure light. There is no scale for darkness, only for light.
If you want something to be dark, such as a bedroom so you can get young children to sleep in the summer, or for people who work night shift and need to rest in the daytime, you block out the light. Because light removes darkness, darkness is the lack of photons.
When God made the world, as we read from the first few verses of Genesis chapter 1, there was no light until God created it. Darkness was the default condition. It would have existed indefinitely, at least until God did something about it.
Of course, I’m not here this morning to talk about physics. This is not a TED Talk about literal light and darkness. This is a sermon about metaphorical light and darkness, about spiritual light and darkness, about good and evil.
In this fallen world, it is much the same with good and evil. We are not good by default. We are naturally more sinful than we are holy, and if left to our own direction, human beings will turn to wickedness and darkness a lot faster and a lot farther than we will move towards goodness and light. It doesn’t take lot of history to see and to realize the persistence of this. For every happy and pleasant time and place in human history there are countless tragedies and atrocities, for every so-called golden age there was a dark age that followed, often for a much longer time span.
Often that follows much faster than we would ever imagine. After all, Berlin hosted the Summer Olympics in 1936. We know what followed. Three year later Germany was at war, and less than a decade had passed before the city was partitioned and divided between the western powers and the USSR. In 1984 Sarajevo hosted the Winter Olympics, and less than a decade later the city was besieged during the Yugoslav civil war. And those are only recent examples that leap to mind. Humans revert to such utter darkness with little hesitation or delay.
Both of those examples were the result of regimes that either denied the existence of God, or completely ignored His word and His ways. But that is to be expected. The most evil and dangerous places in this world are generally the places where God is not welcomed, not honoured and certainly not obeyed. Radical Islamic jihad arose in Afghanistan under the Taliban, where simply being a Christian was punishable by death. The atheist, communist governments of China and Cambodia resulted in millions of deaths in the 1960s and 1970s, to the extent that in Cambodia roughly a quarter of the entire population of the country was killed in a three year period.
Where there is no light, darkness is assured. Thus it is with physics and with faith. But we need not choose darkness.
God is light, we heard that earlier from 1 John chapter 1. God is light, and in him is no darkness at all, that is how John starts his epistle, that is in fact the very first point in the message he brings, as we read at verse 5. God is all light, no darkness. This is important for us to remember, because we are not like that. The world around us is not like that. And often our concept of God, our imperfect, flawed concept of God, is not like that.
People generally have a deeply incorrect impression of that which is spiritual that there is a balance between light and darkness, between good and evil, and that this is a normal and expected thing. Think of the Chinese concept of Yin and Yang, with the white and black swirls, for lack of a better term, that describes opposing, contrasting forces in balance. Think of Star Wars, the idea of the Force is that it has a light side and a dark side, and that both are equally part of the Force. Think of the idea of the scales of justice, or of the metaphorical scale that weighs a person’s good deeds against their evil ones, a concept that goes back at least as far as ancient Egypt.
We have been taught that good exists in balance with evil, and that this is normal and to be expected. And likewise, it’s only a problem to be concerned with when the scale tips too far toward evil. Otherwise, it’s all good. We can readily observe this in the world around us, that good exists alongside evil, and so we assume that is how things are intended to work, how the world is supposed to be. But that is not the case.
Remember, God is light, He has no darkness. When the world was created, when light was made, let me read Genesis 1:4 again. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. He saw that it was good, and He not say it needed to be a 50/50 balance with darkness, it needed to exist in combination with darkness. No, He separated it. He divided the light from the darkness. Because light does not need darkness. There is no balance required. Light is perfectly fine with no darkness at all, and in fact light repels and obliterates darkness. Light needs darkness like a fish needs a bicycle.
When we have an incomplete or incorrect concept of God, then it is easy to assume that He might be a lot like we are, only bigger, better, and far more powerful. That’s how ancient peoples imagined their false gods, the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Canaanites, you name it, they generally thought of the entities they worshipped as being greatly magnified versions of themselves, but with specific spheres of influence. So you get gods that are in charge of weather, or water, or war, or even things that don’t start with the letter W. These false gods functioned on a higher plane of existence, but they still made mistakes, they were still petty and prideful and selfish, much like the people who worshipped them. Much like people in general.
Our God, the true God who made heaven and earth, is not like that at all. He is light, there is no darkness in Him. We need to remember that. And we need to remember that light is better than darkness, on every level.
I won’t have you turn there, but in Ecclesiastes chapter 2, we read (13) Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. (14) The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all.
That passage is of course more about wisdom, but it makes the point that wisdom is better than foolishness, just as much as light is better than darkness. The word we have in English in the KJV is excelleth, which isn’t a word we use much these days, but the meaning is pretty clear. The Hebrew word is yithrôn (yith-RONE) which means to have the pre-eminence, or to excel. The writer of Ecclesiastes used that example because it’s an obvious one, of course light is better than darkness. No one can reasonably argue otherwise, and if they do, well, a light switch or a candle or even a match would prove the point. The smallest light will cast out darkness instantly.
So why is it then that there is so much darkness in this world? Why is there such darkness all around? Why is there indeed darkness in our very hearts?
In John’s gospel, chapter 3, we read some very familiar verses that address this topic. Reading at verse (16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (19) And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (20) For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. (21) But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
God sent His Son to be the light of the world. We can read a great number of verses that mention this, from John chapter 1, or 8, or 9, to Isaiah chapter 9 and Revelation chapter 21. Christ brought light, indeed was and is the light, He is the light of truth and love, He is the avenue of redemption from the darkness of sin. He is in fact the only viable option, the only path, the only way of salvation, the only true light.
You would think that anyone who hears the message of salvation, the good news of the gospel of Christ, anyone who sees a glimpse of the light, would want to hear more, see more, and ultimately experience it for themselves, but no, that’s not what has happened. Otherwise this building and many others much like it, in this town, in this province, and indeed, around the world would all be filled from wall to wall with those who know and love the Lord, those who have come to the light and are walking in the light. Clearly, that is not the case. The verses I just read indicate why – men love darkness, because their deeds are evil.
Most people do not think of themselves as being particularly evil. And by our own standards, we’re not. No one here has done the same sort of evil as those worst examples I mentioned earlier, none of us have participated in war crimes or atrocities. If we are not in the light, then our sins don’t seem all that bad. And when they don’t seem all that bad, then it’s easy to let them slide. And so they can remain, unresolved and unrepented, existing in the shadows and escaping most notice.
That’s how darkness works, it doesn’t have to be the blackness of midnight on a moonless night to be dark. And that’s how sin works, it doesn’t have to be kidnapping, arson or murder to be sin. Men love darkness because their deeds are evil. And in the dark, evil is not so noticeable. At least not to you and me. But the darkness does nothing to conceal evil, or anything else for that matter, from God.
Christ said that men love darkness, rather than light, because they like to do things that are evil. And certainly, in the dark evil feels a lot more palatable. It feels a lot less, well, evil. We see this in the world around us so plainly. So many people live sinful lives, but because it is not egregious or criminal, they think they are fine. They don’t feel convicted of their sin, because when you are in the dark, it’s easy to ignore things. When you don’t let the light of God into the nooks and crannies, you don’t see the problem. When you are living by your own standard, rather than God’s standard, that is how it goes.
It’s easy to look at the world, see the darkness and wickedness that never seems to diminish, and think it a distant problem, but we also see it much closer to home. We may not love darkness, but we do tolerate it. We think it normal. We think that it is not something to get all that worked up about, because it is common and expected in our fallen world. And so while we may not love darkness, we put up with it, and we don’t actively seek to remove it from our lives and from our hearts, not in the way that we should.
God is light, He is without darkness. His standard tolerates no darkness, no sin. His Son, likewise, came to this world to bring salvation, to bring that light to us, so that we might be free from the darkness that oppresses us. God wants us to be free from that. He would not, and did not, provide salvation for us so that we might continue to live in bondage. That’s not really much of an offer of salvation, is it?
If we have accepted Christ as Lord and Saviour, if we have believed in Him and in His work on the cross, then we should not be still living in darkness. We should not be remaining adjacent to darkness, either. Darkness is not an old friend that we can talk with from time to time. Darkness is, and always has been, an enemy.
We might ask how do we walk in the light when the world is so very, very dark? It’s the old problem of being in the world, but not of the world. Like a boat that is in the water, but should not be full of water, the world is where we live, but it should not be thought of as our home. We’re not here for the long term.
If you are reading God’s word on a daily basis, and I don’t mean skim over a couple of verses and calling it good, but actually reading it, and considering and meditating upon that, letting it remain in your mind through the day, then you are actively working to be in the light.
If you are turning to God in prayer early and often, not just thirty seconds at the end of the day, and if you are actually bringing your cares and concerns to Him, rather than hanging on to all of those yourself, then you are moving more into the light.
If you are caring about others more than yourself and following the example of Christ, then you are following the light.
If you are not living in a state of continual and consistent sinful behaviour, but confessing your sin to God, and turning from it, and seeking to put it away and leave it behind you, then you are clearing out the dark corners to let more and more light in. The light of God’s truth will expose the darkness for what it is, and like turning on the overhead light in the middle of the night, it’s not going to be fun, in fact it’s going to be be all sorts of unpleasant, but it is necessary. As we heard from the reading earlier, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The world has plenty of unrighteousness in it. We’re going to encounter some, we’re going to experience some, and frankly, we’re going to do some it ourselves, despite our best intentions. We need to be cleaned up from that, and regularly. We can’t walk in the light and then go back to living in darkness and expect that things are going to be okay.
Tragically, it is possible to walk ever so close to the light, but not embrace it, not accept it, and not remain there. I’m going to read one more passage this morning, this is from John’s gospel again, and if you still have your Bible open to chapter 3, flip over to chapter 13. This is at the Last Supper, after Christ had washed the feet of His disciples, we’ll read in at verse (21) When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (22) Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. (23) Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. (24) Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. (25) He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? (26) Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. (27) And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. (28) Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him. (29) For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor. (30) He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.
Judas Iscariot had followed Jesus of Nazareth for the previous three years. Judas had been as close to the light as one can possibly be, he had walked with the Lord, talked with the Lord, served with the Lord. He had seen more miracles than any of us can even imagine. He had heard teaching such as we have never heard. He had experienced Christ’s ministry, and he had stayed with the Lord when things got tough, even as others had walked away. Judas was one of the chosen 12, he was selected, he was special. But in the end he chose darkness instead of light.
When Judas walked out of the upper room, we read that it was night. We don’t know how many stars there were in the sky, but a darker night there has never been. Judas went out into the darkness, leaving behind the light of the world. He was in as close proximity to the light of heaven as anyone could be, but that did not save him.
I don’t say this to scare you, but it is a serious matter. We cannot be on friendly terms with darkness, we cannot tolerate it, and let it remain unchecked in our lives. If we do, then we can expect consequences. Being near the light, being able to see the light, that does not help us if we instead chose darkness.
If we are in the light, if we have heard and believe the truth, then there can be no place with us for lies, no place for darkness. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Let us not remain in darkness, not when we have the light.