Theme: Light and Dark
Light and dark.....
Art experts, those who have made a special study of Rembrandt’s paintings on themes from the Bible, have noticed something striking, not simply about how he paints, but what he paints....... the striking thing is that there are very few paintings or even drawings by Rembrandt of the Last Supper. At one point he sketched out a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Last Supper...... but that was about it.
Instead, Rembrandt, is much
more fascinated by what the gospel tells us of the meeting of the risen Jesus
with the disciples on the
road to Emmaus, and the moment when the disciples realise that
the One who breaks bread with them is the risen Lord.
In a painting from 1629,
Rembrandt shows us that room at Emmaus,
He shows us the light from a hidden
lamp, light surrounding Jesus,
light
on the face of one of the disciples at the moment he recognises who this is....
and all around, darkness..... in fact the painting is
almost exactly divided into the light that surrounds Jesus, and a deep darkness
that fills the rest of the room.......
Here is the play, the
interplay, of light and darkness............
I suppose you could say that
that’s also what we have here in Matthew’s gospel, recorded in chapter 10. The
words of Jesus hold before the disciples light, and a warning of the darkness,
the
light they are called to, and journey in,
and
the twilight, the darkness that they may enter............
light
and dark..........
First the light -
Matthew tells us how the Lord
calls the 12 disciples together, and sends them out through
When they arrive in a village
as the twilight draws on they are to look for the house of a good person where
they can stay, and bring to that house, to that person greetings of peace. And
for all this, Jesus gives the disciples His authority. They will go, sent by
Him, appointed by Him, under His authority, with His authority.
The disciples go with an
invitation for the lost sheep of
This is what the sheer loving
grace of God is like,
the
living God, comes seeking us – in His
own Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Good Shepherd seeking,
searching for the lost sheep,
seeking,
searching for us – Jesus speaks here of
a moment, an hour, a day of light............ for those who are far away.
But there is darkness,
a
darkness that Jesus warns of.....
as
the great beam of the light of the kingdom sweeps across
the
dark places are made plain.........
Jesus speaks in Matthew’s
gospel of the world, the darkness of the world He is sending the disciples into !
If, as the twilight falls,
v.14, they throw you out of a village,
says
Jesus, shake the dust off your feet
and keep going, it will be easier for
Then the Lord speaks of a
deeper kind of darkness that will come one day:
Be on your guard says the
Lord, v. 17 they will bring you before
councils, governors and kings, but do
not be concerned, what you need to say will be given you at that moment by the
Holy Spirit. Do not be afraid, says Jesus, not a single sparrow falls to the ground, but your Father in heaven
knows it v. 29 - you are, as you journey on in the Father’s care.
What situations, what
circumstances, what twists and turns and troubles lie round the next bend in
the road, the disciples do not know,
But they have the word, the
authority of Jesus that
the
living God will be there ahead of them! that if the way becomes more difficult, and they even lose
the path.......
they
will know more deeply the greater reality, the grace and love of the living God
in Jesus Christ,
That’s the message for the
disciples............... here is the very word of Jesus for them, to them,
equipping, readying them.............
So here in the gospel, light
and dark, the light of the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, the dark of
what the world is like...........
You’ll remember that’s just
how John’s gospel begins:
In Him was life, and that life
was the light of mankind,
the
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.........
the
reality of the gospel, the reality of this world.............
light
and dark.......
and,
of course, for the New Testament,
the
true darkness of the world,
the
heart of the darkness of sin is seen at the Cross,
when this
very world, this very world of ours rejected
Jesus, God’s only Son,
nailing him to a
cross on
even the
noonday sun was darkened at that deed, the gospels tell us...........
dark and
light.....
light and
dark.........
is there a
message here for us this morning ?
I think there
is...........
You know, there are several signs, some might be
straws in the wind,
others
more serious, that a new situation may dawning
for the Church.
What that will be like, it is
very difficult to say of course,
but we seem to be moving from being a strong Church fifty
years ago
one that could undertake a great range of activities, and
projects and plans.......
as many of us will remember.
As a whole Church we are in many places weaker,
losing much of the power we
once had.
Perhaps, a kind of
twilight is drawing on .............
is there a
message here in the Gospel for us this morning ?
Of course there
is............
and its this:
that if the cross reveals the darkness of this world,
when this
very world, this very world of ours
rejected Jesus, God’s only Son,
nailing him to a
cross on
and the
true darkness of the world,
the
darkness of sin was seen at the Cross,
if
the Cross reveals what the World is like,
but
it also reveals the victory of Jesus over sin and death !
for
the great ringing declaration of the New Testament is the truth that Jesus is
risen from the dead !
the
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.........
says John’s gospel,
if
the reality of this world............. is darkness,
there
is a greater reality over and beyond it.... the light of the risen Jesus Christ
Is there a message here in the Gospel for us this morning
?
Of course there
is............
and
its this: that the authority is still His,
that
authority of Jesus when He sent the disciples out into the world
is
still His.............
For: declares the risen Lord
Jesus.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me
the
root, the ground, the foundation of all authority over this earth,
lies
in Jesus.........
Is there a message here in the Gospel for us this morning
?
Of course there
is............
and
its this:
that
Jesus will come again !
I love Geoffrey
Brown's description of his visit to
You come in out of
the glare of the Italian sunshine, he writes, stepping through the cathedral
doors, and suddenly you are in
Behind the altar, he
goes on, is one of the largest stained glass windows in the world. showing the second coming of Jesus Christ.
with the
armies of heaven behind him. Christ Jesus comes to set everything straight at
last for everyone who has hoped in Him.
And as the sun pours
in through the window
The cathedral
floors, walls, visitors, and the bustle of daily life all of this is covered
over, immersed, in the patterns, colours and light of that stained glass
window.
The people in the church, walking, living, moving, in the light, the
colours, the patterns of that window, the light the colours, the pattern of the
coming of Jesus Christ
Our lives as
believers, our work in this congregation, however halting, sometimes succeding,
sometimes failing, have their true perspective
in the light
of Jesus Christ,
in His
victory over sin and death at the Cross,
in His
authority over this earth
in His
coming again
That’s the message
of the Gospel for us this morning,
Let us pray
earnestly, that we may live in His light,
the
light that shines in the darkness, which the darkness has never put
out.........
Until the day dawns
and the morning star arises.................
and He comes
again
May we walk, live, move, in the colours, the
patterns, the light,
of Jesus Christ and His Cross, and the hope of His coming again.
AMEN.