| The Foundation of Lady Katherine Leveson at Temple Balsall | ||
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St
Mary's Church
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Light In Darkness John 13: 31 - 35 - Fifth Sunday of Easter Sermon preached on 9th May 2004 by The reality of darkness has been best described, for me, by those individuals who have had to struggle with darkness and dark happenings within themselves: doubt, fear, anxiety and depression. All of us, in some way or another, or to some extent, have had to struggle with dark happenings within ourselves. Self- doubt, fears and insecurities - these are all part of the substance of our living. There is certainly a crisis of darkness in the context of this passage from John. Judas has gone out to get the police to have Jesus arrested. It is an act of betrayal. There are more dark happenings on the horizon for Jesus: sufferings, trials, denials and death. All of these dark happenings happen at night. So at the darkest moment in the narrative, when the anticipation of human failure seems certain, the announcement is made of Jesus' glorification. His moment of exaltation, honour and praise is set against the crisis of darkness, of betrayals and denials. Glory is glowing - glowing through the darkness. It is the promise that the glow that Jesus affirms for himself is the assurance that the dark happenings are not the final word. The true light that enlightens all has come into the world and is about to shine - shine in and through his death and resurrection. How does the light of Christ dispel and scatter our darkness? Within us the light shines in our darkness from that love which he brings. His love is stronger than our fears. He overcomes our fears through his compassionate and endearing call to us "My little children" (v.33). Our faith grasps that, no matter the dark happenings that stir, God has valued us as his own. A precious, tender, beautiful love. What holds the family together and makes it stand out above all the rest is the love members have for one another - dramatic, persistent love like the love Jesus has for them. In this passage Jesus expresses his concern for the community. He makes love the distinguishing mark of the Church, that characteristic of its life by which even outsiders can discern its authenticity. The light of that love can shine through our patience, our desire to understand, to forgive; our commitment to justice at the beginning of this Christian Aid week; our humility and selflessness. This text lays a heavy challenge before us to evidence in the world
a unique quality of life and action. "You should love one another.
By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you have love for
one another". By God's grace and mercy let us build a community
a community where darkness is acknowledged and embraces.
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