Jeffrey C. Long

Years ago when my family first started attending Menno Mennonite church, I enjoyed watching the little procession every sunday as one of the children in the church went forward to light the candle. They take their task so seriously. Soon my children were asked to do it as well. It is such an easy way to include our children in the worship service and is meaningful to them as well. That’s why I ordered a candle lighter/snuffer in time for the advent services and to be used now during our service.

Something important though is that we know what it means. What does it mean to light a candle on a Sunday morning. Why do we do it?

Lighting a candle is a part of the Jewish celebration of the Sabbath. The lighting of Sabbath candies formally ushers in the Sabbath in the home. It is to be done 18 minutes before sunset. There is a website that you can go to that will precisely pinpoint when 18 minutes before sundown will be for your specific geographic location. At least two candles are lit, symbolically representing the two forms of the fourth commandment: zachor -”Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” in Shemot, and shamor “Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” in Devarim. The candles are lit on the table where the Sabbath meal is eaten, and should be large enough to burn during the meal and well into night.

For the church the candle is significant because it is a reminder to us that Jesus is the light of the world. John 8:12 says “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The candle flame represents the presence of Jesus. As the flame is brought into the sanctuary and the candle lit, it’s symbolizes Jesus coming into our worship service and being with us during worship. As the flame is carried out at the end of the service, it symbolizes Jesus going with us into the world, helping us to be a light to the world for Jesus.

So today we are going to look at 3 things this verse talks about: what darkness means, what it means for Jesus to be the light of the world and to have the light of life.

Darkness and light are such powerful images that they find their way into the creation myths of the many cultures of the world. It is interesting that in most of them it is out of the darkness that creation springs forth. Darkness is such a powerful image that ancient cultures imagined it to be an actual substance.

In the beginning of the Egyptian creation stories there was the great celestial waters of the depths of the nighttime sky. Swimming within this primordial Deep were the eight mighty Gods who swam within the Waters, guarding the infant Creator.

In time, this young creator God emerged with one single finger pressed against His lips in Silence. And light streamed forth from the body of this Divine Child, banishing darkness to the far reaches of the universe.

The greeks also believed that the creation came from out of darkness. First there was only chaos. And then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless, darkness. Then somehow Love was born bringing a start of order. And then From Love came Light and Day.

While it is interesting to see what other cultures believed about the origins of light and darkness we go to the only true source to learn where they came from.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.

3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. There was evening and there was morning, one day.

1John 1:5 tells us that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

God created the earth, formless and empty… dark. And then God invaded the darkness with light. And do you that ever since then there has never been a place of total darkness in the universe? Contrary to popular belief, pure or total darkness does not exist, because some small amount of light, in the form of radiation, permeates every corner of the universe, even if at times undetectable by the human eye. – Wikipedia

God invaded the darkness with light. And He’s been doing it ever since.

Jesus said in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus was continuing the work done by his Father, invading the darkness with light. And He was not just the light of the Jewish people… to the Pharisees who heard his words. He was the light of the world. Everyone who heard Him knew that He meant the gentiles when he said “I am the light of the world.” He is the light to your unsaved family friends and neighbors.

Eberhard Arnold founder of the Bruderhof movement said that “Jesus’ light is an all-inclusive life force that belongs to all. This force seeks to affect all relationships of life in the same way as the sun shines upon the just and the unjust. God does good to enemy and friend alike. God is there for everybody and everything. The task of His light can only be to serve all, to be there for all. – Eberhard Arnold. Salt and LIght p. 21

Isaiah 60:3 says “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”

The light of Jesus is an invasion force shining on everything and everyone around Him.

He came because Humanity and all of creation were made for the light. Made to be in the light. Jesus came knowing that mankind withers away when it is not in the light. Just as we can’t survive without physical light, we can’t survive without spiritual light. Because we were made to be in the light of God it is against our very nature when we aren’t in the light. When there is no light, there is no life, only death.

So When the service begins the candle is nothing but a dead wick reminding us that without Jesus in the world there is only darkness.

Then as the flame enters the sanctuary it symbolizes the entrance of Jesus into the world where He could shine into the darkness the light of God.

Once the candle is lit, we are reminded of three things.

First, the candle reminds us that because Jesus is the light of life his light allows us to see in the darkness.

Like other children, I remember having nightmares. One that I remember is when I was spending the night at my grandparents. I dreamt that there were creatures on the floor that would get me if I was to get up to get a drink of water. Seems like they were killer frogs or something. Because it was dark I couldn’t see if they were there or not.

This is the problem with sin and death in the world. They cloud everything with a veil of darkness that keeps us from seeing accurately. As a result we are filled with fear. Even the flicker of a candle can light the way so that we can see clearly and put fear aside.

But darkness doesn’t just keep us from seeing it can also lead to depression.

The little village of Rattenberg is the smallest town in Austria, and getting smaller each year. The town has lost 20 percent of its population in the past two decades, and as of 2005 had only 440 residents. The reason? Darkness. Rattenberg is nestled behind Rat Mountain—a 3,000-foot obstruction that blocks out the sun from November to February. But thanks to some clever new technology, the town’s situation is about to get a little brighter.

An Austrian company called Bartenbach Lichtlabor has come up with a plan to bring sunshine into the darkness by installing 30 heliostat mirrors onto the mountainside. The mirrors will grab light from reflectors on the sunny-side of the mountain and shine it back into the town.

The project will not be cheap—the European Union will cover half of the $2.4 million bill—but if successful, will bring hope to the 60 other communities scattered throughout the Alps that endure the winter darkness each year. Markus Peskoller, Lichtlabor’s director, has also committed to paying for the $600,000 cost of planning the project because of its potential for other markets. “I am sure we will soon help other mountain villages see the light,” he said.

Without sunlight to light the darkness this little town was dying. Because most people cannot live without the light. The light of Jesus brings life to people under the depression caused by spiritual darkness.

The second thing the candle reminds us of is that because Jesus is the light of life, His light provides warmth. I’ve seen bits and pieces of the reality TV show Survivor and what has struck me by it is how separated we are from the work that most of the world has to go through to meet their most basic needs. We don’t understand how increadibly important light and fire are for our basic survival. For us water comes in the tap or in bottles on the grocery store shelf. But the water the rest of the world has access to is not drinking water. It has to be purified. And the only method available for them to purify water is to use fire. The only way to prepare meat to be eaten is through the heat of a fire or the sun. And while some of us live in cozy homes with a thermostat to bump up to 74 when we feel a bit chilly most of the world’s population lives in huts, tents, shacks on dirt floors.

The heat that accompanies light is essential to life.

The spiritual warmth that Jesus provides through the community of the church is equally essential to life. Love is the warmth that the light of God provides.

1John 2:10 says 10Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him© to make him stumble.

When we have love for each other the light of life keeps us spiritually warm. We are at home together around the wood stove enjoying each other and sharing experiences with each other.

People without this warmth live in darkness, out in the cold. Verse 9 says “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.”

Finally, The candle reminds us that because Jesus is the light of life his light produces growth. Nothing can grow without light. Not even algae and plankton or the creatures that live at the bottom of the ocean. Creation was made for the light. Sunlight flashes forth life and generates it on earth making it germinate and bear fruit everywhere.

Where do you find yourself this morning? Are you walking with Jesus in the light or do you find yourself in darkness? A friend of mine asked what if the light is so bright that it is unbearable. What if the light that we are living in seems only a glimmer, like a solitary candle in the darkness.

Johann Blumhardt has some comforting words that I will close with. He writes:

Wherever we find ourselves distant from God, we are in darkness; the closer God is to our heart, the more light we have. Just think of the

great darkness the heathen felt when they knelt before mute idols and

were in unrestrained bondage to their own pleasures and desires; how far they were from the living God! Things could never be good for them in this darkness; they had no future hope, yet their spirits could not shake off a longing for the future. A deep sense of sorrow must have dominated their minds; they had a sense of their divine origin, even while they were aware of their own ruined condition. It is true that often people do not sense these things; in that case they languish like irrational animals, at first in the full bloom of natural strength, then gradually deteriorating.

When a person does sense these things, the darkness seems to grow even

more oppressive. At this point the Gospel arrives and proclaims a Savior who forgives sins and a heaven with open doors. To the person who senses his darkness the message falls like a shaft of light into his heart. “I have found it!” he cries, almost drunk with joy. This was the experience of the heathen to whom the Apostle came and this is the experience today of those whom the gospel sunrise enlightens with the knowledge of themselves and of Christ. To them it can be said, The darkness is past and the true light now shines.

Oh, if only we might receive light, dear friends, for at the end of this year we want with one accord to be found to be people who are gripped by the Savior. Even if we are afraid, or if we are still in the clutch of Satan, we must not lose courage; we can still see the light of life. Whatever condition we may be in, we have the name of the Lord Jesus and we can rise up in the triumph of his victory.

-Johann Christoph Blumhardt