This is roughly the text of the Christmas Eve 2025 sermon, given at Cooks Point Methodist Church in Caldwell, Texas.

photo from Pixels

Isaiah 60: 1-5

John 1: 1-14

FOCUS:  Jesus is the Light of the World; and in that light we see Light.  

John 1: 1-14

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4In him was life,^a and the life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11He came to his own,^b and his own people^c did not receive him. 12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Jesus gives me the light to see, to see things in a particular way.   Our Scripture says that in him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  I want to talk about light and darkness tonight, how it applies to Jesus coming into the world, and end with a question for all of us to consider.  

Light and darkness, being blind and seeing, are themes not only in John’s gospel but throughout the Bible.  

In the first words of the Bible, Genesis 1:1 and following, we read: 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good.  And God separated the light from the darkness.  

God spoke, and the light appeared.  And it was good.  And the Lord separated the light from the darkness. It was the word of God that created light.  

In Psalm 36:9 David prays to the Lord, “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.”  

The Lord teaches us to see from a different perspective.  In Psalm 61:2 David again cries out to the Lord, “…from the ends of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint.  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”  

We can only see things that are right in front of us; we can’t see the larger perspective, as God sees.  Lead me to the rock that is higher than I…

For instance, we may think we can be made right with God by our behavior, by acting right or not acting wrong, or by making sure we read our Bibles and pray, and fast.   These are all good, but they don’t deal with our sin, the sin that keeps us from a holy God.  We walk in darkness, trying to find our own way.  

God shows us the way.

In Psalm 119: 105 we read, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path.  When this was written thousands of years ago, the dark roads were lit only by the lanterns or lamps carried by the traveler.  You could only see a few feet, just the path in front of you.  In Proverbs 3: 5-6 we learn to trust in the Lord in all your ways, lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and the Lord will direct your path.  

God shows us the way.  

For hundreds of years, animals were offered in sacrifice to atone for sins, to make us one with God.  But these were not lasting, they were over and over.   

God not only shows the way, He provides the way. 

The prophet Isaiah prophesied that Someone was coming, that God would provide.  In 9:2 he wrote, Those who have walked in darkness have seen a great light.  Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them a light has shown.  

What does this idea of darkness mean?  It doesn’t take a prophet to realize we live in a deep darkness now.  Anger, even rage, addictions, alienation from friends and family over politics, suicide rates are up among young people, medically assisted suicide has become a major cause of death in Canada — one in 20 according to some figures released in 2023.  In 2027 those suffering with mental illness, including depression, will be able to qualify for the medically assisted death.  (The M.A.I.D. Program).  How difficult do you think it will be to get a diagnosis of depression?  Have you looked into the difficulty of getting a medical prescription for marijuana in the states that allow it?  

And  what’s God got to do with all this?  How could a loving God allow such suffering, such a depth of darkness?    Does He really answer prayer?  Does he even exist? 

The folks who first heard the prophecy from Isaiah 60 would have wondered these things, too.  They had lost their homeland, and were being held in captivity in Babylon.  I imagine many of them had given up all hope.  The Lord they had counted on seemed to have deserted them, or abandoned them.  Or maybe they had been fooling themselves all along.

Isaiah 60: 1-5

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
2For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
3And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.

In Matthew’s account of the crucifixion, on the day Jesus died upon the Cross, a great and thick darkness covered the land  from noon until 3 pm, the hour Jesus died.  But the darkness did not last; Jesus rose from the dead when and the glory of the Lord was seen on him, and all nations are coming to his light now, the gospel going out into the whole world.  

Darkness and light — it’s a theme throughout John’s gospel and all of Scripture.  Jesus is the Light of men, and the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.  The creative Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.  Scripture says he came to the world he created, but we did not know him.  To those that did recognize him, he gave the power to become children of God. 

When we live in the darkness of our imaginations, when we live in the darkness of our long cherished resentments, our fears, our anger, our grudges, our lust, our greed, our readiness to run over someone to get what we want or what we think we deserve — when we live in the darkness of addiction to alcohol, other drugs, our addiction to hate — we stop looking for the light of life.  

But that light of Christ is ready, and the darkness cannot overcome it.  

In just the past few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about walking in darkness, without having the freedom Christ offers.  If we turn our lives to Christ — and, at least for me, it has been a long and continuing process  (as my family can tell you!) — and feel his love, his forgiveness…then it is as if a light dawns and we didn’t realize we were in such darkness until the light appeared.  And in the light of Jesus, we can see, we can see how blind we were before…

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I..

This story of Jesus is a true story, you know. There is no doubt historically about Jesus of Nazareth. Historians agree that Jesus lived, and had a following, and was crucified.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as the rest of the New Testament, are historical documents as well as theological ones,. and there is more historical proof for the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth than there is for Socrates or Alexander the Great, among others.  

But historians have real difficulty with the Resurrection.  How can that be true?  I know this is Christmas Eve and not Easter, but the manger ties directly with the Cross and the empty tomb. 

But all historians agree that SOMETHING happened that first Easter morning.  Christianity grew and spread through the witnesses of the resurrection, because of the new life and the new way of treating others.  Many of the early Christians died as witnesses, martyrs for the faith.  All but one of the 12 disciples died violent deaths.  Why would they do this if they had not seen the risen Jesus?  They had no more money or power than these shepherds in our story — keeping watch over their flocks by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.   And the angel said unto them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (from Luke 2) 

But something happened. 

And they were different.

Why does God allow suffering?  Jesus embraced suffering by enduring the betrayal, the beatings, the torture, the death upon the Cross.  Jesus embraced our suffering

And on the night He was betrayed, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed three times that “this cup be taken from me”.  He prayed three times, and ended with “not My will, but thine.”  There is a depth of faith here that resonates beyond understanding.  

So here is the question I want to leave with you.  Do you believe this story is true?  Do you believe Jesus is God who came into the world to save you from sin, to bring you from darkness to the light of life?  Do you believe Jesus saves your life not only now but through eternity?

C.S. Lewis, a prominent Christian writer of the 20th Century,   wrote that Christianity, if true, was of most importance.  If it was not true, it was of no importance.  What we cannot say is that it is of some importance.  

I believe there is no more important question than this.  Do you believe Jesus is who He says He is, Who the Bible says He is?  I pray for all of us that Christ can be born anew or born for the first time in our hearts tonight, that we might walk in the promised light of Christ — because a baby was born in Bethlehem.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen