Finishing John 1:1-14

This is a continuation of the first sermon text we discussed: Jesus as Light is the light or understanding of grace seen in Christ. There are two kinds of light, one is the natural light of human reason. The other is the Light seen in Christ which is above human reasoning. Luther says human reason rises up against grace, especially when reason accuses grace of forbidding good works or when it insists upon having its own way and standard of becoming pious (#51). The true understanding of God’s grace gives rise to good works, not the reverse. One of the major themes in Luther’s sermons, as I have read them, is the concept that we love God best when we love our neighbor. After all, what can we REALLY do for the God of all creation? Mumble some words of prayer or practice some religious ritual correctly? How does this help God? Does it raise God's self-esteem or sense of power? Loving God means we appreciate God’s undeserved favor to us enough that we care for our neighbor because we know this is pleasing to God. In reference to good works, Luther also points out that good works never bring about a change of heart (#101). Only faith changes a person and makes a child out of an enemy. Our study group talked about the practice of posting the Ten Commandments in schools and public places. Do people think that displaying rules of moral behavior will change the nature of a person? Only Jesus can bring a new birth to make someone a new person. Maybe we should press for putting pictures of Jesus holding little children in our schools and prisons. In our church building, we have a large painting of Jesus, the shepherd, reaching one hand toward us as if to say, “Come to me,” and in the other hand, He holds a black sheep. I love it. Jesus holds a black sheep – not a white one. He holds the sinner close to Him, not necessarily the righteous. There is no other Light (‘understanding of God’) than Christ, God’s Son in the flesh. Luther says the Light of grace is “faith.” Christ shining in a dark world is like the sun shining on a blind person. A blind person still cannot see. You or I can do all we want to try to help a blind person see, but we fail until Jesus Himself opens the eyes of the blind to see Him as the revelation of God. Luther compares us to John the Baptist as forerunners of Christ, preaching and pointing out Christ to others. Through the Gospel, the Light is brought to the world. The name ‘John’ in Hebrew means ‘grace’ or ‘favor.’ Luther says this signifies that John’s preaching and message was sent into the world, not because we deserved it, but purely out of God’s grace and mercy. He was sent by the grace of God. I guess this could suggest that you and I are also a ‘means’ of God’s grace when we tell others the good news of God in Christ. We prepare the way for the Anointed One to enter a person’s life when we share Him. Christ is presented to open their eyes. Here is where Luther says the Gospel writer sets aside the doctrines of men saying, “for what men teach will never show Christ, the Light, but will only obstruct it” (#75). The teachings of men are based on reason, the natural light. “Whoever points out Christ is surely sent by God, and has not been invented by man.” I agree with many things Martin Luther teaches, but he reminds me by his own words that he is human and capable of misunderstanding, like when he conditions his variation with important early church fathers on individual teachings, saying, “St. Augustine was only a man, and we are not compelled to follow his interpretation…” (#46). He respects Augustine enough to not want to "disagree" with him, but he differs from Augustine’s opinion that Jesus as the "light" of men referred to natural human reason. Luther’s opinion is that Christ is the Light of men that God might become known (or be understood correctly) to the world (#123). This is one of the sermons wherein Luther comes down on the Pope because he – or anyone who sets aside Scripture and sets up his own law in their place – is an anti-Christ (#81). If it is not in Scripture, then it must be a human invention. If it does not point to Christ as the one who redeems us from sin, death, and Satan, then its questionable as to whether we need to believe it. Other tidbits to contemplate: the divine birth is faith, a gift from God (#109); Christ’s humanity is the clouds covering his divinity (#90); Christ is the “brightness of the Father’s glory,” which means his divinity (#135). This is all I can cover on this sermon in a short blog. There’s much more if you’re interested, like about 14,000 words more. I wonder if Luther preached this sermon in one setting? God’s blessing, PWM