Shining with the light of Christ the King
John 18: 33-37; Revelation 1: 4b - 8
Next Sunday is Advent Sunday, December 1st.
Christmas is undoubtedly getting closer and I wonder how we’re all feeling. Do you feel excited when you see Christmas lights lit up – or do you feel that it’s all too early and does it just make you despair at the commercialisation of Christmas?
I was talking to someone last week who observed that ever since the 2020 pandemic, it seems that people are putting up their Christmas lights, decorations, and even trees earlier and earlier. There have certainly been lights up among our neighbours since the beginning of November - weirdly overlapping somewhat with the Hallowe’en decorations. Perhaps it’s that the more life feels to be hard and out of our control, the more we long for bright lights in the darkness and something to take our minds off the news bulletins.
My older brother thinks that all Christian faith is like this – just a way of distracting ourselves from the grimness of life – a way of trying to keep cheerful despite events around us – but ultimately nothing more substantial than tinsel and fairy lights. Sometimes I have tried to tell him that Christian Hope has more substance than that – that our faith offers us a whole new way of seeing God’s world – which brings us true hope, love and joy as Christmas approaches.
So how can today’s readings shone true light into our lives and bring us the gifts of love and joy and hope as we begin (or continue) our preparations for Advent and Christmas?
The passage from John’s gospel is like pressing ‘fast forward’ on Jesus’ life. Just as we are about to start celebrating the birth of Jesus, this part of John’s gospel is dealing with the end of Jesus’ life.
Pilate is questioning Jesus, after the chief priests have accused him of blasphemy and treason. Pilate asks ‘are you the King of the Jews?’ and then ‘what have you done?’. Jesus tells Pilate ‘my kingdom is not from this world’… and then ‘I came into this world to testify to the truth’.
Maybe if we are to prepare ourselves to really celebrate Jesus coming into the world we need to allow ourselves to ‘fast forward’ today and reflect on what God is doing in coming to earth in the person of Jesus.
Jesus is not coming to do things in the way that Pilate is used to doing things – he is not here to throw his weight around, or oppress the weak, or enjoy power over other people. Jesus says, in effect ‘king is your word, not mine’. When he says ‘my kingdom is not from this world, Jesus is rejecting all the human ways of wielding power, in favour of the way of love and self-giving. We know that when Jesus says this to Pilate he is not trying to avoid crucifixion – he is embracing it. Jesus has come to show us the truth that God’s love will always give itself up for others – and yet love will win in the end - so God’s love is the most powerful force on earth.
Just this week I heard the story of Donna Mulhearn, a former journalist, in a documentary produced by the BBC World Service.
In 2003 Donna Mulhearn, then aged 34, heard someone on the radio seeking volunteers to serve as human shields in Iraq, to prevent the Western allies from bombing the country after the 9/11 terrorism attacks. Despite the objections of concerned family and friends, she travelled to Baghdad to join hundreds of other volunteers from around the world. But as the bombing began Donna, along with other volunteers, witnessed terrible scenes of carnage. She was placing herself in a dangerous situation for the sake of other people, people she didn’t even know. In one situation, she faced up to a tank full of Iraqi soldiers in Baghdad and said ‘I’m an Australian and I’m asking you to let these innocent people through’ – and they did.
An Iraqi volunteer who knew her at that time described her as being like a candle in the darkness.
In the end, the war between Iraq and the US was devastating, but she reflected ‘We knew the war was wrong and we did what we could to challenge it’. When she was asked ‘was it worth it?’ she said, firmly ‘God was there in the suffering, in the brokenness... and in the moments of silence.. and in the moments of prayer’.
Here's a wonderful gift for Christmas – the capacity to see that love and self-giving can overcome the violence and abuse of power of this world.
Jesus comes to show us what it means to give up your life for others, and be given eternal life back from the Father – and his followers have continued to demonstrate this ever since.
The Revelation to John of Patmos talks of Jesus Christ, the firstborn of the dead, who makes us into his kingdom, coming with the clouds; the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and was and is to come.
John of Patmos takes every description he knows of the God who rules the world – the Greek concept of the Alpha and Omega; the Jewish concept of the one who was and is and is to come; the Roman concept of the Almighty Ruler – and he says that the God who is the Father of Jesus Christ is all of these things, because he is the one true God,
He then tells his readers that this God – who is the ruler of everyone and everything that ever has been and ever will be, has come in Jesus. And what has Jesus come to do? To love and save people.
Here is the gift of hope for us this Christmas.
However strong the powers that rule this world seem, God is greater. But that greatness is not shown in the political posturing or inhuman war-mongering that we see on our news – the greatness of God is shown in the simplicity of the child born among us to show us God’s love in a human form.
God’s word reminds us of the gifts of love, hope and joy which have come to our world.
Whether we want to put up Christmas lights or not, we can look for the signs of the light of God’s presence in our world.
We might look for people like Donna Mulhearn who shone as a candle in the darkness of war.
We might find examples nearer to home of people and events that show that God is here with us, and love is alive.
In Monmouth, a 28 year old called Katy Davies has set up a charity called “Consider it Cakes Cymru” – she leads a team of volunteer bakers who make birthday cakes for people who cannot bake for themselves because they are in temporary accommodation, or don’t have an oven, or are homeless.
So let’s look for signs of hope and points of light this Advent. And let’s not lose sight of John of Patmos’s little phrase that Jesus ‘builds us into his kingdom’ –
we can be the lights for others in their darkness, we can shine with the gifts of hope, joy and love we have known.
It’s time to turn on the lights – deck your house if you want to – but most of all shine in the darkness for those who need it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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