Cleansing Light
John 3:14–21
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed.
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Louis Brandeis once penned the well-known phrase, "Sunshine is said to be the best of disinfectants." Light exposes everything it touches. It reveals what lies in the darkened corners and the hidden places that we thought were out of sight and out of mind. Sin is pervasive if left alone and unchecked in our hearts and community. Sin feeds on our fears, insecurities, and selfish desires and frequently manifests in our actions, words, and deeds. Sunlight is the best disinfectant to expunge maladies that plague us. Sunlight or Son-light unveils the waywardness of our hearts; even if we think that our actions are secretive or anonymous, they are known to God and to God alone we must answer And when the light shines, it is that moment of reckoning where we will face the unpleasant truths of where sin has impacted our lives and hopeful truth of the purifying love and grace of God that never ends.
To better understand the gospel reading, I think we have to take a step back and first look at the passage from the Book of Numbers, which is alluded to in our reading from John's Gospel. The people of God are still wandering in the desert. And like many times before, they are grumbling to Moses. In a twist of irony, the people actually think their life of slavery was better than the freedom God had given them. In the midst of their grumbling and continued moral failings, God sends a venomous snake that unfortunately kills many Israelites. God gives Moses the cure for anyone who is bitten, which is to look up at a snake hoisted up on a pole. It may seem like a strange remedy, but the symbolism is poignant. Those who were bit were forced to look, to confront, a physical representation of their sin. Our grumblings, our maltreatment of one another cannot be hidden from God. And for us to sincerely change, we must let the light of God uncover and expose the parts of our hearts that need healing.
Reflecting on this passage, I cannot help but come back to faith and prayer. Faith that God did not send Christ into the world to condemn the world, and faith that if the light of Christ breaks through the shadows that consume our hearts, we will be set free. Prayer, that even when it is difficult, will alter the way I live. Prayer for those who have done wrong to me because those individuals are hurting more than myself, praying to speak up and acting against injustice, and prayer to challenge the status quo. There's a thought from this past week's Bible study that has really stuck with me, which is that prayer is a rebellious act because the act of lifting our voices to God is a call to not settle for the way things are. The light of Christ makes clear what is not normal, what isn't right, and our prayers are vocalization and affirmation that our work as disciples is not yet done.
Lifted high on the Roman cross, pierced hands, and feet, Jesus' sacrifice demands our attention. This moment encapsulates the horrors and depravity of our humanity that led to the death of Christ and the pain that we continue to inflict on Christ when we degrade the imago Dei, the image of God, that resides in every one of us. However, I don't think we were meant to stay at the cross. It certainly is a place where we can come back, but our journey doesn't end there. Why? Because of the call to action, the hope that is found in verse twenty-one, "But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God." The light of Christ shows us a truth that is not always beautiful. Yet, when we turn to the light of God, we are reminded that if we take responsibility for our faults and accept our failings, we'll be able to see more clearly the life God gives so freely.
In the end, Louis Brandeis' infamous saying, like our reading for today, holds true yet requires a response on our part. Sunshine may be the best disinfectant, and the light of Christ may grant us life and hope, except we need to take action to gain the full benefit. We need to throw open windows to let the rays of the sun cover us with their cleansing power. We need to open the doors of hidden rooms that we have locked shut to let Christ come and show us what needs to be removed. If we take a moment to pause and look inward, I would be surprised if someone said they didn't find a room or part of their heart that was either too scary to enter or something that they wanted to keep trying to hide from the light of God. Our faith and our prayers tell us that Christ came into the world not to condemn the world but to save the world. Let these be words we take to heart as we continue to let God's life and light shine through us. Amen.