WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.980 John chapter 1 verses 1 to 14 is found on page 886 in the Pew Bibles. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:22.820 John chapter 1 beginning at verse 1. 00:00:22.820 --> 00:00:32.259 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:35.340 He was in the beginning with God. 00:00:36.780 --> 00:00:42.100 All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. 00:00:43.260 --> 00:00:47.679 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:53.539 Again, the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:57.019 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 00:00:57.140 --> 00:01:01.219 He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through Him. 00:01:01.299 --> 00:01:04.079 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:11.400 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:16.780 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:21.560 He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:30.100 But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, 00:01:31.100 --> 00:01:35.760 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:40.800 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us. 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:50.219 And we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 00:01:51.899 --> 00:01:52.959 Let us pray. 00:01:52.959 --> 00:02:06.599 Be our light in the darkness, O Lord, and in your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night. 00:02:07.399 --> 00:02:11.019 For the love of your only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:12.280 Amen. 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:23.439 Most of the scriptures that we have read and the songs that we have sung tonight have spoken of light shining in darkness. 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:30.460 Of course, Christmas is a season of light and joy and peace and fellowship. 00:02:30.460 --> 00:02:37.560 But it can also be a time of darkness, grief, unrest, and loneliness. 00:02:39.439 --> 00:02:45.920 Maybe your morning, the recent loss of a loved one, perhaps you came to recognize that up at the front, 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:49.400 or simply reflected on that during this last few minutes. 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:51.900 Maybe it's a more distant memory. 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:55.819 Someone dear to you, whom others may have forgotten, 00:02:55.819 --> 00:02:59.359 but their absence is still very fresh in your mind. 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:03.699 Maybe you've experienced other kinds of losses in the last year. 00:03:04.840 --> 00:03:06.539 Losing your financial stability. 00:03:07.579 --> 00:03:09.039 Losing your physical health. 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:11.699 Losing your emotional strength. 00:03:12.699 --> 00:03:13.699 Losing a close friendship. 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:21.419 Perhaps the cold weather and short days and long nights seem to take a toll on your soul as well as your body. 00:03:21.419 --> 00:03:28.519 You know, it shouldn't be surprising that things that happen to our bodies also weigh on our souls. 00:03:29.899 --> 00:03:34.639 And what goes on in our souls tends to manifest itself in our bodies in some way or another. 00:03:35.159 --> 00:03:39.839 As human beings, God made us as a unity of body and soul. 00:03:40.679 --> 00:03:47.739 We're not angels, spiritual beings unaffected by enduring physical bodies. 00:03:47.740 --> 00:03:50.080 And we're not just animals. 00:03:50.620 --> 00:03:55.200 Physical creatures who may display God's wisdom in many ways, 00:03:55.320 --> 00:03:59.659 but who do not have a spiritual nature like we do. 00:03:59.760 --> 00:04:06.780 Perhaps uniquely among all of God's creatures, our souls are deeply intertwined with our physical bodies. 00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:13.900 And so tonight I want to ask, what does the Word of God have to say to us when we walk in the darkness? 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:19.699 Whether that's physical or spiritual or relational. 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:25.060 And from our readings tonight, I think we can say three things. 00:04:26.139 --> 00:04:32.340 First, that God's Word acknowledges the reality of the darkness in which we walk. 00:04:34.100 --> 00:04:37.000 Our reading from Lamentations began with these words. 00:04:38.060 --> 00:04:40.460 My soul is bereft of peace. 00:04:40.459 --> 00:04:44.799 I have forgotten what happiness is. 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:48.539 I say my endurance has perished. 00:04:49.060 --> 00:04:51.120 So has my hope from the Lord. 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:55.039 Remember my affliction and my wanderings. 00:04:55.139 --> 00:04:57.000 The wormwood and the gall. 00:04:57.399 --> 00:05:02.339 Wormwood and gall were extremely bitter and potent substances. 00:05:02.339 --> 00:05:10.719 The words could sometimes refer to destructive poison and at other times to very bitter tasting medicine. 00:05:13.539 --> 00:05:18.279 This reading says peace, happiness, endurance, hope. 00:05:18.559 --> 00:05:19.120 They're gone. 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:20.419 Forgotten. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:21.899 They have perished. 00:05:23.359 --> 00:05:27.000 Affliction, wanderings, bitterness. 00:05:28.439 --> 00:05:29.079 Remembered. 00:05:29.079 --> 00:05:35.680 You know, in many places the Bible describes what it feels like to suffer. 00:05:36.579 --> 00:05:37.779 To grieve. 00:05:38.539 --> 00:05:39.659 To be in pain. 00:05:41.860 --> 00:05:44.479 The Bible doesn't speak in vague platitudes. 00:05:44.699 --> 00:05:48.659 It doesn't just restrict itself to expressions of positive thinking. 00:05:48.660 --> 00:05:57.840 It faces the emptiness and futility and apparent meaninglessness of life under the sun in this fallen world. 00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:08.140 The book of Lamentations is a series of poems lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem and the horrors that it caused. 00:06:08.139 --> 00:06:25.439 The book of Job, if you read it, has long anguished speeches from a man whose health and livelihood and status and children were all taken from him in one catastrophic day. 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:30.319 Many of the Psalms were written by people crying out in pain. 00:06:31.319 --> 00:06:32.199 Groaning. 00:06:32.779 --> 00:06:34.180 Under the weight of guilt. 00:06:34.899 --> 00:06:36.579 Afflicted by enemies. 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:39.160 How long? 00:06:40.060 --> 00:06:41.019 Why? 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:44.899 The Psalms bring these questions before God. 00:06:44.899 --> 00:06:50.199 The Bible acknowledges the reality of darkness in which we live. 00:06:51.359 --> 00:06:55.539 Whether it's the darkness of loneliness and isolation. 00:06:56.739 --> 00:06:59.739 The darkness of ignorance and fear. 00:07:00.859 --> 00:07:04.259 The darkness of sin and strife. 00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:08.839 Or the darkness of death and its dark shadow. 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:13.779 The reading from Isaiah spoke of people walking in darkness. 00:07:14.779 --> 00:07:18.399 John spoke of the light coming into the darkness of this present age. 00:07:18.459 --> 00:07:20.339 And this is where we must begin. 00:07:21.639 --> 00:07:26.120 Acknowledging before God the reality of the darkness that we experience. 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:29.139 Sometimes this feels scary. 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:30.979 And painful. 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:36.159 Feelings of loneliness or hopelessness feel overwhelming. 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:39.800 And so our instinct is to run away. 00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:41.620 To escape. 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:43.680 To numb ourselves. 00:07:44.340 --> 00:07:45.180 And feel nothing. 00:07:46.840 --> 00:07:50.400 Grief can feel like an open, festering wound. 00:07:51.380 --> 00:07:54.120 Ugly and off-putting to others who see it. 00:07:55.460 --> 00:07:58.780 Our instinct sometimes is to stuff a band-aid on top of it. 00:07:59.280 --> 00:08:02.020 To hide it from public view. 00:08:03.460 --> 00:08:05.920 Acknowledging the darkness around us or within us. 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:09.800 Before God and others can feel like taking off that band-aid. 00:08:09.879 --> 00:08:14.560 And seeing the ugly pus and blood start oozing out. 00:08:15.780 --> 00:08:17.360 It's not always a pretty sight. 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:21.700 Maybe you've tried to open up. 00:08:22.060 --> 00:08:24.420 And share some of your pain. 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:28.100 And maybe other Christians have recoiled. 00:08:28.300 --> 00:08:29.620 Or even rebuked you. 00:08:29.620 --> 00:08:32.980 But God's word allows us. 00:08:33.060 --> 00:08:34.240 Even summons us. 00:08:34.580 --> 00:08:36.360 To give voice to the reality. 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:39.120 Of the darkness in which we dwell. 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:41.639 To acknowledge our sorrow. 00:08:42.500 --> 00:08:43.840 To name our losses. 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:47.899 To speak about even that which brings us shame. 00:08:47.899 --> 00:08:50.799 And to bring that before God. 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:53.479 That is the first step. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:55.719 Toward healing and hope. 00:08:56.519 --> 00:08:58.819 To acknowledge the reality of the darkness. 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:01.379 And God's word does that. 00:09:03.719 --> 00:09:09.259 God's word also warns us of dangers in the darkness. 00:09:09.259 --> 00:09:11.559 This is the second point. 00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:16.419 If I say surely the darkness shall cover me. 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:19.480 And the light around me shall be night. 00:09:19.620 --> 00:09:21.840 Even the darkness is not dark to you. 00:09:22.620 --> 00:09:24.379 The night is as bright as the day. 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:26.980 For darkness is as light with you. 00:09:28.580 --> 00:09:30.899 In one sense walking through the darkness. 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:32.360 Of grief. 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:33.580 Or pain. 00:09:33.980 --> 00:09:34.860 Or depression. 00:09:34.860 --> 00:09:38.360 Can eventually help us to see things. 00:09:38.800 --> 00:09:40.440 That we wouldn't see otherwise. 00:09:41.860 --> 00:09:44.399 Imagine if we suddenly had a power outage. 00:09:45.159 --> 00:09:47.120 And all the lights in this building. 00:09:47.500 --> 00:09:48.840 And the surrounding neighborhood. 00:09:49.039 --> 00:09:50.360 Suddenly went off. 00:09:51.680 --> 00:09:52.659 At first. 00:09:53.060 --> 00:09:55.200 The darkness would seem blinding. 00:09:56.340 --> 00:09:57.580 If you tried to walk. 00:09:57.639 --> 00:09:59.100 You'd probably trip over the pews. 00:09:59.220 --> 00:10:00.300 We'd trip over each other. 00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:02.700 Bump into the walls. 00:10:02.700 --> 00:10:06.300 You'd feel disoriented. 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:08.940 But gradually. 00:10:09.740 --> 00:10:11.460 Your eyes would begin to adjust. 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:14.520 You learn to see in the darkness. 00:10:15.560 --> 00:10:17.740 You learn to function with much less light. 00:10:17.860 --> 00:10:19.040 Than you thought you needed. 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:21.900 You begin to notice things. 00:10:21.980 --> 00:10:23.360 You might have otherwise ignored. 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:25.520 Like the moonlight. 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:27.200 Filtering through. 00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:28.920 The stained glass windows. 00:10:30.500 --> 00:10:31.960 Or if you stood outside. 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:34.180 The stars in the sky. 00:10:35.100 --> 00:10:36.780 Which normally we don't notice. 00:10:37.280 --> 00:10:39.240 Under the bright streetlights. 00:10:40.860 --> 00:10:41.940 In God's mercy. 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:43.440 People who have suffered much. 00:10:44.160 --> 00:10:45.780 Can become deeply compassionate. 00:10:46.840 --> 00:10:47.580 And humble. 00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:49.520 And perceptive. 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:50.920 And sensitive to others. 00:10:51.420 --> 00:10:53.320 In ways that they never were before. 00:10:54.040 --> 00:10:56.080 They learn to see in new ways. 00:10:57.600 --> 00:10:57.840 You know. 00:10:57.840 --> 00:10:59.600 Some of the songs that we've sung tonight. 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:02.680 Come from people who suffered much. 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:07.019 The song we sang to the tune of Greatest Thy Faithfulness. 00:11:08.060 --> 00:11:11.659 Is actually from a poem written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:13.399 On New Year's Day. 00:11:13.700 --> 00:11:14.980 Of 1945. 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:17.540 In the concentration camp. 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:19.019 Where he was imprisoned. 00:11:19.019 --> 00:11:24.259 The song I heard the bells on Christmas Day. 00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:24.740 Was written. 00:11:25.379 --> 00:11:27.079 In the middle of the American Civil War. 00:11:28.340 --> 00:11:30.480 On Christmas Day of 1863. 00:11:30.480 --> 00:11:31.899 By a man who had lost. 00:11:32.139 --> 00:11:33.659 One child in infancy. 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:35.939 His wife had died. 00:11:36.419 --> 00:11:37.340 Two years previously. 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:38.860 When her dress caught on fire. 00:11:40.079 --> 00:11:41.679 He tried to put it out. 00:11:42.179 --> 00:11:43.079 And was so. 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:45.680 Disfigured by the burns. 00:11:45.800 --> 00:11:47.620 That he wasn't able to attend her funeral. 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:50.080 And he had just received news. 00:11:50.160 --> 00:11:50.960 Earlier that month. 00:11:51.040 --> 00:11:52.060 That one of his sons. 00:11:52.420 --> 00:11:54.560 Who had gone off to fight in the Civil War. 00:11:54.680 --> 00:11:55.360 Had been paralyzed. 00:11:58.820 --> 00:11:59.639 So he wrote. 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:00.680 These songs. 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:02.200 Were written by people. 00:12:02.300 --> 00:12:03.940 Who were walking through pain. 00:12:04.660 --> 00:12:05.360 And suffering. 00:12:06.080 --> 00:12:07.700 And seeking to give voice to that. 00:12:08.080 --> 00:12:08.720 And to. 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:10.940 And to bring that before God. 00:12:10.940 --> 00:12:13.520 And also to declare the hope. 00:12:13.640 --> 00:12:13.920 That they. 00:12:14.800 --> 00:12:15.620 Found in God. 00:12:15.720 --> 00:12:16.720 So walking in the darkness. 00:12:16.900 --> 00:12:18.300 Can sometimes help us see. 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:20.900 Things that we wouldn't see otherwise. 00:12:21.380 --> 00:12:22.520 But walking in the darkness. 00:12:22.520 --> 00:12:23.980 Also has its dangers. 00:12:25.920 --> 00:12:27.380 People who have suffered much. 00:12:27.380 --> 00:12:28.020 Can also. 00:12:28.520 --> 00:12:29.820 Become self-pitying. 00:12:30.800 --> 00:12:32.100 Self-justifying. 00:12:33.260 --> 00:12:33.900 Seeing themselves. 00:12:34.060 --> 00:12:35.180 Always as the victim. 00:12:35.900 --> 00:12:37.480 Never as the source of a problem. 00:12:38.940 --> 00:12:40.360 The suffering we have endured. 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:41.759 And continue to endure. 00:12:42.539 --> 00:12:43.639 Can become our weapon. 00:12:44.320 --> 00:12:46.300 That we use to defend ourselves. 00:12:46.860 --> 00:12:49.019 Against anyone who would challenge us. 00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:51.320 Or point out our flaws. 00:12:52.139 --> 00:12:53.620 Or call us to a costly. 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:55.620 Path of obedience to God. 00:12:56.700 --> 00:12:58.919 You have no right to speak into my life. 00:12:59.659 --> 00:13:01.399 You don't know how much I've suffered. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:04.720 We not only endure suffering. 00:13:04.879 --> 00:13:06.740 We can find a perverse satisfaction. 00:13:07.860 --> 00:13:09.279 In knowing that we have suffered. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:10.240 More than others. 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:12.839 And so we can justify. 00:13:12.839 --> 00:13:14.240 Our coping mechanisms. 00:13:15.139 --> 00:13:16.699 Our comforting addictions. 00:13:17.720 --> 00:13:19.439 Our short-sighted attempts. 00:13:19.620 --> 00:13:21.019 To soothe ourselves. 00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:22.939 In the midst of our pain. 00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:26.360 Perhaps we even sabotage. 00:13:26.459 --> 00:13:28.179 Good opportunities that come our way. 00:13:29.559 --> 00:13:30.879 Partly out of despair. 00:13:32.259 --> 00:13:33.559 Nothing really could. 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:34.919 Get better for me. 00:13:34.919 --> 00:13:37.939 And partly because we don't really want. 00:13:38.139 --> 00:13:39.459 Our life to get better. 00:13:41.599 --> 00:13:43.500 If I consciously receive. 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:46.000 A generous gift that I didn't earn. 00:13:46.099 --> 00:13:46.679 Or create. 00:13:46.839 --> 00:13:48.979 Then I have to let go of my identity. 00:13:49.579 --> 00:13:51.479 Of being an oppressed victim. 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:53.659 And all the defenses. 00:13:53.659 --> 00:13:54.940 That provides. 00:13:54.940 --> 00:13:55.220 That provides. 00:13:56.580 --> 00:13:58.240 The gospel of John says. 00:13:58.539 --> 00:13:59.940 Light has come into the darkness. 00:14:00.820 --> 00:14:03.519 But people love darkness instead of the light. 00:14:04.300 --> 00:14:05.920 Because their deeds were evil. 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:11.480 It's right to acknowledge the reality of the darkness that we experience. 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:13.879 But the Bible warns us. 00:14:13.879 --> 00:14:16.259 Not to love the darkness. 00:14:17.220 --> 00:14:21.759 Not to make our final home there. 00:14:23.460 --> 00:14:26.120 Lamentations calls us to hope in the Lord. 00:14:26.840 --> 00:14:27.920 To wait for him. 00:14:28.060 --> 00:14:28.720 Seek him. 00:14:29.620 --> 00:14:32.899 Even if that means sitting alone in silence for a long time. 00:14:33.620 --> 00:14:35.060 Or enduring pain. 00:14:35.059 --> 00:14:39.879 This is what the season of Advent leading up to Christmas. 00:14:40.459 --> 00:14:42.079 Is meant to teach us to do. 00:14:42.219 --> 00:14:45.039 To hope for what we do not yet see. 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:49.339 To seek for what we have not yet found. 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:53.259 To wait for what we have not yet experienced. 00:14:53.259 --> 00:14:55.219 To live in the in between. 00:14:56.139 --> 00:14:59.779 Between God's promise that he will come to us. 00:15:00.659 --> 00:15:03.719 And our experience of its fulfillment. 00:15:05.059 --> 00:15:09.779 So God's word acknowledges the reality of our darkness. 00:15:10.819 --> 00:15:13.319 It also warns us against dangers. 00:15:14.019 --> 00:15:15.579 That lurk in the darkness. 00:15:15.739 --> 00:15:16.319 And finally. 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:20.159 God's word proclaims that light has shined. 00:15:20.699 --> 00:15:22.279 Into the darkness. 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:25.899 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. 00:15:27.759 --> 00:15:30.239 Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness. 00:15:30.239 --> 00:15:32.079 On them the light has shown. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:34.539 Isaiah says. 00:15:34.539 --> 00:15:35.679 Light has dawned. 00:15:35.679 --> 00:15:38.120 Not light from within ourselves. 00:15:38.839 --> 00:15:41.139 But light from outside ourselves. 00:15:41.139 --> 00:15:43.159 Has shined on us. 00:15:43.500 --> 00:15:45.139 And that is good news. 00:15:46.139 --> 00:15:47.439 That is good news. 00:15:47.439 --> 00:15:49.339 When we feel hopeless. 00:15:50.339 --> 00:15:50.980 Lifeless. 00:15:51.899 --> 00:15:52.620 Used up. 00:15:53.299 --> 00:15:53.980 And inadequate. 00:15:53.980 --> 00:15:56.860 The message of the Bible. 00:15:56.860 --> 00:15:59.560 The message of the Bible is not that God helps those who help themselves. 00:16:00.940 --> 00:16:07.300 The message of the Bible is that God helps those who are helpless and hopeless and admit it. 00:16:09.300 --> 00:16:14.340 His merciful light has come to shine on us in our darkness. 00:16:14.340 --> 00:16:18.920 The gospel of John picks up the same theme. 00:16:18.920 --> 00:16:23.200 The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:23.840 The true light. 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:25.840 The true light. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:25.879 The true light. 00:16:26.500 --> 00:16:28.100 That gives light to everyone. 00:16:28.280 --> 00:16:31.759 Was coming into this dark world. 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:34.480 And you might say. 00:16:34.480 --> 00:16:36.059 What exactly is that light? 00:16:36.860 --> 00:16:38.220 That he's talking about. 00:16:38.860 --> 00:16:40.399 That shines in the darkness. 00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:43.259 And John goes on to tell us. 00:16:43.299 --> 00:16:43.559 He says. 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:45.399 The word became flesh. 00:16:46.779 --> 00:16:48.259 And dwelt among us. 00:16:48.259 --> 00:16:52.740 The word that is the eternal God. 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:55.100 The uncreated light. 00:16:55.220 --> 00:16:58.799 The one through whom all things were created. 00:16:59.700 --> 00:17:02.120 Came to live with us. 00:17:02.659 --> 00:17:05.119 In flesh and blood. 00:17:05.940 --> 00:17:09.339 As a naked vulnerable baby. 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:12.259 That's the message of Christmas. 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:16.819 That God has come to dwell with us. 00:17:16.819 --> 00:17:22.720 That he did not just shine on us from far off. 00:17:24.919 --> 00:17:26.559 When God came into the world. 00:17:26.679 --> 00:17:28.539 He did not come as a shooting star. 00:17:29.059 --> 00:17:30.740 Or a bolt of lightning. 00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:32.919 Or a blazing fire. 00:17:34.579 --> 00:17:36.899 He came as a humble baby. 00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:40.379 Who grew up into a man. 00:17:41.879 --> 00:17:43.480 Who died on a cross. 00:17:43.480 --> 00:17:46.539 He came to meet us. 00:17:46.539 --> 00:17:47.559 Right where we are. 00:17:49.819 --> 00:17:51.019 He came to meet us. 00:17:51.019 --> 00:17:51.779 In our pain. 00:17:52.420 --> 00:17:53.180 And grief. 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:54.220 And loss. 00:17:55.420 --> 00:17:56.539 He came to meet us. 00:17:56.599 --> 00:17:58.519 In the finiteness of our understanding. 00:17:58.680 --> 00:17:59.680 When we simply say. 00:17:59.860 --> 00:18:01.099 I don't understand. 00:18:01.460 --> 00:18:03.200 And I can't see the whole picture. 00:18:04.059 --> 00:18:05.079 He came to meet us. 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:07.860 He became a finite human being. 00:18:07.859 --> 00:18:10.659 He came to meet us. 00:18:10.659 --> 00:18:12.439 In the ugliness of our self-pity. 00:18:13.159 --> 00:18:14.879 And self-justification. 00:18:15.439 --> 00:18:16.839 And self-sabotage. 00:18:17.779 --> 00:18:19.799 In our feelings of hopelessness. 00:18:20.139 --> 00:18:20.839 And despair. 00:18:22.339 --> 00:18:24.599 Jesus came to bear our darkness. 00:18:24.819 --> 00:18:26.240 For us and with us. 00:18:26.699 --> 00:18:27.619 In his life. 00:18:27.719 --> 00:18:29.839 And ultimately in his death on the cross. 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:32.159 The Bible says. 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:33.559 He was a man of sorrows. 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:36.159 And well acquainted with grief. 00:18:37.159 --> 00:18:38.720 He was despised. 00:18:39.699 --> 00:18:41.039 And we esteemed him not. 00:18:42.379 --> 00:18:44.699 All we like sheep have gone astray. 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:48.459 We have turned everyone to his own way. 00:18:49.899 --> 00:18:51.379 The Lord has laid on him. 00:18:52.199 --> 00:18:53.619 The iniquity of us all. 00:18:53.619 --> 00:18:57.479 Christ entered into our darkness. 00:18:58.559 --> 00:19:00.799 So that he might become. 00:19:01.339 --> 00:19:02.579 Our everlasting. 00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:04.639 And unconquerable light. 00:19:06.139 --> 00:19:07.679 That he might lead us. 00:19:08.579 --> 00:19:10.859 Into the eternal light of God's presence. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:15.359 So that we might know. 00:19:17.079 --> 00:19:17.919 Jesus said. 00:19:18.099 --> 00:19:19.119 I am the light of the world. 00:19:19.239 --> 00:19:20.299 Whoever follows me. 00:19:20.719 --> 00:19:22.099 Will never walk. 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:23.559 In utter darkness. 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:26.119 But will have the light of life. 00:19:26.979 --> 00:19:27.699 Within them. 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:30.439 And that is the promise. 00:19:30.679 --> 00:19:31.619 Light has come. 00:19:32.339 --> 00:19:33.459 Into our darkness. 00:19:34.239 --> 00:19:34.839 God's word. 00:19:35.219 --> 00:19:37.079 Acknowledges the reality of the darkness. 00:19:37.299 --> 00:19:39.559 It warns us against the spiritual dangers. 00:19:40.219 --> 00:19:41.159 Of the darkness. 00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:43.899 But it said in Christ. 00:19:44.439 --> 00:19:45.079 The light. 00:19:45.579 --> 00:19:46.279 Has shined. 00:19:46.739 --> 00:19:47.679 Into our darkness. 00:19:49.479 --> 00:19:50.839 That we are not alone. 00:19:52.479 --> 00:19:53.439 That in Christ. 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:54.140 We have hope. 00:19:54.700 --> 00:19:55.900 That we have a savior. 00:19:55.900 --> 00:19:56.640 Who is with us. 00:19:56.759 --> 00:19:58.180 Every step of the way. 00:20:00.019 --> 00:20:01.559 From the deepest darkness. 00:20:02.180 --> 00:20:03.039 All the way. 00:20:03.120 --> 00:20:04.019 To the morning light. 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:08.019 Let us pray. 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:12.000 Be our light. 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:13.480 In the darkness. 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:14.220 Oh Lord. 00:20:14.220 --> 00:20:14.360 Lord. 00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:17.299 And in your great mercy. 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:18.140 Defend us. 00:20:18.940 --> 00:20:19.900 From all perils. 00:20:20.539 --> 00:20:21.240 And dangers. 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:22.579 Of the night. 00:20:24.100 --> 00:20:25.980 For the love of your only son. 00:20:26.140 --> 00:20:26.640 Our savior. 00:20:26.779 --> 00:20:27.519 Jesus Christ. 00:20:27.900 --> 00:20:28.819 The light of the world. 00:20:30.400 --> 00:20:30.779 Amen. 00:20:30.779 --> 00:20:30.880 Amen. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:47.000 Amen.