Sunrise Service - Light and mirror

The Light

and the Mirror

John 1

I would like you to close your eyes, and imagine that there is no light.

There’s no sun, …no moon, …no stars.

There are no street lights, …no house lights.

Everything is pitch black.

(Pause)

That’s what it was like before the beginning of creation.

And God said, “let there be light”, and there was light.

Now imagine watching the sunrise. After a dark night the sun slowly appears over the horizon.

It’s still cold, …there’s dew on the ground, …but as the sun rises higher in the sky you begin to feel it’s warmth.

Close your eyes and imagine the warmth of the sun shining on you. It’s God’s gift.

(Pause)

It’s a sign of his love, which is unconditional. The sun shines on both the wicked and the righteous.

OHP - sunrise

(Pause)

But even though the sun was physically shining, the world was in spiritual darkness.

That’s why Jesus came.

The first chapter of John’s gospel tells us that…

“Through him all things were made: without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

“There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness concerning that light, so that through him we might all believe. He himself was not the light: he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.”

(Pause)

Later in John’s gospel Jesus said, “I am the light of the world”.

Close your eyes and imagine seeing Jesus on the first Easter morning. His body radiant, …light shining from him.

The light represents his love for you. Imagine the warmth of that love, …rather light the warmth of the sun.

His love for you is unconditional, no strings attached. It’s a free gift.

(Pause)

But you have a choice. You can either believe he loves you and receive that love, …or you can run away and hide from it.

His love for you is a free gift, …but like any gift, you need to receive it.

What will you do?

(Pause)

But if we choose to receive the light of Jesus, the time will come when he will invite us to reflect that light to others.

It may not be immediately, …at first he may simply want us to enjoy basking in the warmth of his love, …and there will be other times in our lives when he wants us simply to bask in the warmth of his love.

But the time will come when we know he is inviting us to be like a mirror.

Put mirror in front of the OHP

Jesus said to his disciples, “You are the light of the world”. But it’s not our own light that we shine, rather we reflect the light of Jesus.

Rather like the moon reflecting the light of the sun.

Jesus will invite us to be a mirror.

OHP - acetate of a mirror

It’s not easy being a mirror. It can be costly.

Many people didn’t want the light of Jesus, …they preferred to live in darkness, …so they did their best to put his light out by killing him.

We too may be persecuted if we try to reflect his light.

(Pause)

God’s gift to us is the light of Jesus.

God’s invitation is to reflect that light to others.