When preparing for this sermon, I came across many items to reflect on light and darkness. Much peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies, stop and go, up and down, hot and cold, and even good and evil. With notable exceptions to some of these examples in relation to food, you cannot separate one from another without the lack of something. Darkness is the absence of Light, Light is everything! Did you know in Genesis it tells us God designed everything to be good!
I remember as a child, night time was a really neat thing. I brought out my telescope and see all the beautiful stars in the sky that normally you cannot see when the sun shines brightly and no clouds are around.
Just like on Dec. 21st how the two planets lined up and shinned brightly at night! How about laying on your back looking straight up into the sky, and eventually you could see the milky way and all its inhabitants.
When you go tenting, how night time you hear things that you ‘think’ isn’t there in the daylight which we know isn’t true. That sudden snapping of a twig, that could be a werewolf, or just a possum or racoon looking for food.
Darkness has a harsh emphasis on something bad or negative doesn’t it in our lives? To be dark, means to be sinister, to be evil, to be something other than good!
When in fact, night time is also meant for good. It gives us rest, set our bodily clock to start and finish the day, enjoy a nice campfire under the stars, sing lullabies to children so they can rest, close your day with prayers and so on. So many reasons that Darkness can be and will continue to be used for good.
There are very good reasons though, darkness is a place of uneasiness, a location where you did not want to stay long.
It’s a place where mankind can hide things, be unseemingly distant and disobedient, being unseen is a safe haven for wrong doers. And even, when you can’t see at night, you don’t know what to expect and if you can’t see something, you can’t prepare for it. A surprise seems to haunt you more than anything at times!
Matthew
But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
That is something to reflect on! Being prepared! STAYING AWAKE!
In 2020, we can reflect and remember darkness in many aspects, from lives lost and lives changed, heart aches and pains, and so on… One factor that is taught in therapy sessions, is if you harbor on the negative or dark things, that will be your focus. What takes us away from good things, is bad friends! Anything that takes our eyes off Jesus, is bad! Scripture tells us “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Think about this, How about those that are blind, how their world seems to be in darkness.
John 9
Jesus healed a blind man from birth and he stated, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” And Jesus goes onto say in chapter 12 “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness.”
Here we see Jesus directly stating darkness may seem to us desperate thing to live in turmoil, a sense of rejection and even worse a separation from God. But here, the mere fact Jesus being the light of the world is enough! It shows us the solution, the completeness of being in the light.
Story about Mrs. Bennett
Abide in darkness? So what does light and darkness have to do with Jesus baptism?
The day of Pentecost which is May 23rd this year, is more on the emphasis of the Holy Spirit into our lives. What I’m talking more on the subject today is simply ‘From Darkness into the Light.’ We are to remember our Baptism friends! Like it was yesterday. It was a start to a new beginning.
When we live in darkness friends, scripture tells us and many of us are living examples ‘When we walk in darkness, we will NOT see the light!’ We can live a life that has purpose and meaning, but still live in darkness.
Jesus had a purpose, just like us! However, his baptism, his anointing was absolutely essential towards fulfilling Gods purpose as through his life’s journey. Such as ours!
When we live for Christ, we have so much to look forward too, so much gain, so much abundance its sometimes hard to phantom.
Baptism gives us sometimes that not ONLY is requirement given to us directly by GOD, but it has a extraordinary significance towards the life of a believer and continuing the journey as a follower of Christ.
Some has argued, why did the Son of God get baptized in the first place? Isn’t he God?
Yes he is and was and continues to be God, but he also is a God of his word, God of fulfillment, God of justice. Jesus being flesh and blood, had to be baptized, just as we are to be.
Christ being part man and part God, HAD to complete his fathers work by being ‘Borned Again’ into this world.
Scripture tells us “What is born of flesh is flesh, and what is born of spirit is spirit,… man cannot please God in the flesh, you must be in the spirit.” And continuing saying “For by one spirit we were all baptized into one body, where Jews or greeks, whether slaves or free had have all been made to drink into one spirit, for the body is NOT one member but many”
Now don’t think for a minute, you’re the only ones that has questions and maybe don’t fully understand the concept of baptism. Look at Nicodemus!
John
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night
Nicodemus a well known pharisee, was seeking the truth, was seeking God. In the midst of his darkness in life, he seeked Christ in darkness of night, not to be seen of men. This act alone helped him learn of Christ.
Baptism gives us hope, life and the Spirit required to live a Godly life. And its free, and its our choice!
Ephesians 4
There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Friends, Baptism gives us the light which is Christ that when all other lights goes out, his remains lite. Just like the stars of the sky at night, the lamp that God shines at your feet in the darkness to see your way.
Baptism, just as Christ done, is vital to our living and dying! It is a outward expression to a inward decision, but guess what? Its not about the water! Its all about being Born of the Spirit! The living breathing Spirit of the Living God into our lives! That’s the key!
Inclosing friends, I challenge you to reflect on Christ Baptism, in how it’s a living example of a shinning light, a beacon towards what we should follow home to. Its something also God commands us to do, although it is surrounded in some mystery. Just as Nicodemus came to Jesus in the night and asked about this great mystery, so can we come to him any time, day or night!
Just because you can’t see something or fully understanding doesn’t mean its not real or important. You don’t have to understand or see it, just open our lives to Christ, he will show us the way in being the light that out shines all others, Amen.