The great German preacher Helmut Thielicke, in an Epiphany sermon entitled “The Message of Redeeming Light,” said the following: If we take light seriously, we have also to reckon with the fact that there is a night in which it shines. This is the limit of all Christmas dreams. Light… Continue reading
The prophet Isaiah yearned for the time when God, acting through a messianic king, would bring justice and peace to the whole world. Looking to that day he said, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on… Continue reading
Even though our time is not the time of John the Seer, we too need a bright morning star. In times of such confusion and bewilderment, chaos and upheaval, we need to refocus our eyes on Jesus. In doing so, we will rediscover the primacy of compassion, rededicate ourselves to the search and affirmation of truth, flesh out our love into action, embrace the necessity of forgiveness, and orient our lives through a primary commitment to God’s justice and righteousness. In a gray world such as ours as well as in the dark, sinister world of John, Christ can serve as the bright morning star as he enlightens our paths and enables us to see what is in and around us. Continue reading
Whenever I hear this passage, I think of that song I was taught as a child and with which many of you are familiar: “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” But there is a major problem with that song-especially if it has this passage in… Continue reading
(a 13-minute podcast) John 3:16 is like the Lord’s Prayer—we all know it, but our very familiarity with this verse hides its profound message. We think we know what it means because we hear and interpret it through the theology we’ve grown up with. But I am convinced that the… Continue reading
