When the Light Speaks into the Darkness

What a week it has been. What a range of emotions this week there has been from last Sunday,

right through the week, Thursday, birth of new grandchild or first grandchild right through to today.

So I want you to hear my heart this morning as I speak.

The title of my message this morning is this, When the Light Speaks Into the Darkness.

When the Light Speaks Into the Darkness. Now, I want you to hear me gently this morning.

But I want you to hear me clearly this morning because we're not here today by accident.

This message is not here by accident. It's probably not the sort of Christmas

message or sermon that you would be used to, but it is a message that is not here by accident.

And this is not just another Christmas gathering either. It's a moment.

I believe that heaven is speaking to us and the church is being called to do

something specific. I believe the Holy Spirit is telling me,

and that's to stand steady, to stand steady.

Because darkness has made a noise in our city this week, an absolute noise in our city this week.

But I'm here to tell you this morning that the light is going to speak a lot

louder than that darkness. Amen.

The psalmist says this. The psalmist says, there's not going to be any scripture

up there. I just want you to hear my heart.

Okay. The psalmist says, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

Who knows there's some brokenhearted people this week.

It doesn't say that the Lord is close to those who are composed.

It doesn't say he's near to the ones who have it all together.

It says he's close to the broken hearted.

Some of you here this morning have been smiling. I've got the biggest smile

on my face this morning out of anyone, as Angela has as well.

But inside, we are shaken. We are shaken.

Some of you are carrying grief that words can't reach.

Some of you didn't expect this Christmas to feel like this.

And the Holy Spirit says to you, I see you. I have not moved I am close by.

You do not need to rush your healing if you need healing. You do not need to

explain your tears. And who knows, there's been some tears.

You don't need to pretend faith means that you're fine because God draws near.

God draws near not to fix you quickly, but to hold you faithfully.

Let God hold you faithfully.

Now hear this. Fear is loud. Fear is very loud, but it does not have any authority.

There's no authority in fear.

Terra, this week, wanted to disciple our nation.

It wants to teach us how to think fear, and Terra wants to teach us how to think.

It wants us to teach us how to react.

It wants to teach us how to distrust. But the church does not take cues from

fear or from evil or from terror.

We take our truths from the truth. We take our cues from the truth.

Isaiah did not prophesy to peaceful people either. He did not prophesy to a peaceful people.

He prophesied to people who were under threat.

Just like this week, people who were under threat.

Isaiah 9 verse 2 says, The people walking in the darkness have seen a great light.

Isaiah 9:2

Have seen a great light. It doesn't say they might see a great light.

It doesn't say not eventually or have seen. It says they have seen a great light.

Darkness does not cancel out prophecy. It activates prophecy.

Church, it matters that this tragedy at Bondi Beach took place during Hanukkah. It matters.

It matters. For those who may not be familiar with Hanukkah,

Hanukkah commemorates events from around

165 BC When the

Jewish people were oppressed Under the rule of

the Seleucid Empire Their faith was

outlawed The people's faith was outlawed The temple in Jerusalem was desecrated

And the worship of God was forbidden After a small faithful uprising Known as

the Maccabean Revolt The temple was reclaimed and purified.

When it came time to relight the sacred menorah, there was only enough consecrated oil for one day.

One day, yet it burned for eight days.

Hanukkah remembers God's faithfulness, the preservation of faith under persecution

and the triumph of light over enforced darkness.

Hanukkah is not merely cultural. It's a sacred remembrance.

The Jewish people gathered during Hanukkah to proclaim that faith survived when

extinction seemed inevitable.

And church, this is important to say plainly, but respectfully.

The people gathered at Bondi Beach last Sunday were there to celebrate Hanukkah.

They were gathered in peace. They were gathered in faith.

They were gathered to light candles, to remember God's faithfulness and to celebrate light and life.

They gathered to proclaim light and the darkness invaded that moment.

Let me just break right in here for a second. My little grandson,

my little grandson, Luca, do you know what his name means?

Bringer of light, bringer of light.

Hear me on this. Darkness did not and does not invalidate the meaning of that gathering.

If anything, it reveals why the light of Hanukkah matters so much, so much.

And then comes Christmas. And then comes Christmas.

Not sentimental, not soft, not defiant.

John declares this. He declares the light shines in the darkness.

The light shines in the darkness. and the darkness has not overcome it.

Jesus was not born into safety.

He was born into a threat. He was born into political tension and into violence.

Herod had slaughtered children and was slaughtering children. Families were fleeing.

Fear filled the land and yet God came anyway.

He came anyway. Christmas is God saying, I will not remain distant from the suffering.

I will enter it. I will enter into that suffering.

The manger tells us that God is not afraid of vulnerability.

The cross tells us that God absorbs violence rather than returning it.

The resurrection tells us that death does not get the final word.

The resurrection gets the final word.

Hear me with spiritual ears this morning. This is not a season for retreat.

It's a season for radiance.

Christmas is radiant. It's a time for radiance.

It's not a time for necessarily loud Christianity or angry Christianity,

but it's a time for luminous Christianity.

Let our light shine because Jesus said that we are the light of the world.

That's not a suggestion either. It's a calling. You and I are the light of the world.

So this season, I don't want us to mirror the world's outrage.

Although you might feel outrage but I don't want us to mirror the world's outrage

I don't want us to absorb the world's bitterness either.

We will not surrender our tenderness at this time of year. We will.

This is what we will do. This is what I'm encouraging you guys with this morning.

We will overcome evil with good.

Overcome evil with good. We will overcome fear with prayer.

And we will overcome hatred with love.

If your hearts are heavy today, as mine has been all week, if your hearts are

heavy today, hear this. you're not failing, God.

You're being invited closer to God. If your faith feels quiet this morning or

it has this week, it doesn't mean you're weak. It means you're listening.

If you feel tired, it doesn't mean that you're done.

It means you're being carried. You're being carried by God.

The light of the world is not asking you to shine alone because he shines through

you because he shines through the light of the world shines through you.

And I want to invite you this morning to do something with me.

If you're able, I want you to place your hand on your heart.

If you're able to place your hand on your heart and let's sit in silence for a moment.

I hear the spirit say this. I hear the spirit say, do not be afraid.

I am with you. My light is stronger than the darkness that you see. Hallelujah.

Lord Jesus, light of the world, we bring you our grief, we bring you our questions, and our fragile hope.

We pray for the Jewish community this morning, for comfort, for protection,

for peace, and for healing.

We grieve lives that have been lost, while we gather at the same time to celebrate light.

As we remember Hanukkah, Lord

Let faithfulness rise As we

celebrate Christmas Let your nearness

be felt As we shape And shape us into a people Who carry your light Even into

the shadowed places We declare Darkness will not have the final word You do In the name of Jesus Amen,

And this morning I want us to pause and I want us to honor light.

Not as a symbol we control, but as a gift that we receive, because we receive light as a gift.

We remember that during Hanukkah, the Jewish people light candles to testify

that faith endured under oppression

and that God preserved his people when darkness tried to erase them.

That's what God's doing right now. We remember that at Christmas,

we celebrate Jesus Christ.

The light of the world, who entered human darkness to redeem it.

That's what we remember. We remember that Jesus Christ, the light of the world,

entered darkness to redeem it.

Let him redeem it. Let him redeem it.

I'll get someone just to hand out the communion for me. Thanks, Andrew.

And Josh, maybe if you can hand out this tray for me. We may have enough. We'll see how we go.

I said to Andrew this morning, one tray will be plenty, surely.

Not going to be many people here today. There is, there is.

So it's daytime, just as the communion's being handed out.

Today, even in the brightness of daytime, we acknowledge that light still matters.

Light still matters because darkness is not only something that we see at nighttime.

We've experienced it this week.

We've seen it this week that we've seen darkness even in the daytime.

Even during full sunlight, it's something that the world experiences.

Today, I want us to blend some stories together.

I want us to blend these stories. I want us to blend Christmas and I want us

to blend Hanukkah together to honor them side by side because God's faithfulness

did not begin with us and his light did not start in Bethlehem,

but Bethlehem fully revealed it.

Bethlehem fully revealed light, the light of God to us.

And as we come to share communion together, I want us to acknowledge that,

that Jesus came to provide us with light.

This time of year at Hanukkah, they declare that the light has come.

They declared that the light has come to save.

They declared that the light has come to overcome darkness.

So that's what I want us to declare this morning as we share communion this

morning. So take the bread, take the juice.

Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord.

We receive this gift this morning. Lord, we acknowledge the light that has come

into this world, Lord, that overcomes everything.

That has the final say in everything. So as we receive this communion this morning,

Lord, we do it in a way by saying, thank you, Jesus.

Thank you for coming into this world. Thank you for being the light of the world.

And thank you, Lord, for declaring that we too are also the light of the world.

So go ahead and eat everyone, giving thanks to God for his brightness,

for his light, and for his conquering, overcoming power that we sang about earlier,

in Jesus' name. Go ahead and eat. Hallelujah.

This small cup represents the blood of Jesus, which came into the world to set us free,

to set us free, to overcome darkness, to provide for those in need,

to set people free, to save the lost, to heal the sick.

This small cup represents that.

So this morning, give thanks and then drink, knowing that Christ,

the light of the world, has come into our lives. Amen.

Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Thank you, Jesus.

Praise you. Thank you, Lord. So, Lord, this morning, everyone,

this morning, I wanted to clear some stuff over you.

I want us to go. I want us to go today.

I want us to go in the authority of the light who has come.

Go in the authority. As you walk out that door, realize that you're going under

the authority of the light who has come.

For unto us, a child is born.

Unto us, a son is given. And his light has entered the darkness.

And darkness has not and will not and cannot overcome it.

Amen. You are sent as carriers of light this morning.

Where fear has ruled, you will release peace.

Hear me on this. Where fear has ruled, and it's tried to rule this week, you will release peace.

Where hatred has spoken, you will answer with love.

Where darkness has tried to claim ground, you will stand.

And the light of Christ will prevail this morning.

May the blessing of God who came near rest upon you.

May the peace announced by angels guard your heart.

May the hope of Emmanuel, God with us, strengthen as you go.

So go in the name of Jesus Christ this morning, the light of the world,

who was born in Bethlehem, reigning forever and ever and ever.

Amen. Amen. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Merry Christmas. Go today, walk in the light, and be the light of the world. Amen.