The light of Christ (April 3, 2010)
By Rev. Bert Thompson

In Holy Scripture each new day begins, not at midnight, but at sunset. For example, on the first day of Creation, God says, “there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

In God’s Word, many things happen after evening has begun.
During that first evening of that first creation day, light was spoken into the darkness. After darkness, comes light.

On the evening of the Passover, the Angel of Death passes over God’s people. The Children of Israel walk out under blood-stained wooden doorposts into the morning light of freedom.

On the evening of the Red Sea crossing, the light of Christ stands as a wall between the children of God and their enemies. God’s people cross the Red Sea on dry ground as their enemies are drowned by God in the same waters. Once again, water washes away that which is evil. In the morning light, the enemy lies dead on the seashore and God’s people see their deliverance.

On the evening of Good Friday, at the time of the evening sacrifice, in the darkness, the Lamb of God declares the fulfillment of all things when He proclaims: “It is finished!”

But of all the evenings in history, this Easter Vigil is the most holy night of nights. The evening sun has already set. A new day called Easter has already begun.

In the darkness of Easter morning, Christ rises and descends into heart of Hell to proclaim His victory over death and Satan and all his demons. Later, in the morning light, the risen Christ reveals Himself to the faithful women.
This is the third day of our pilgrimage. We began on the eve of Maundy Thursday. This third evening, we stand at the tomb of Christ. You entered this sanctuary in darkness, as though entering a dark tomb. But you were not alone in this darkness. All is not solitude and gloom. The light of Christ went in front of you and still remains among you.

Evening is dark and night is even darker, but morning is coming. Death is the darkest of all, but light shines in the darkness, the light of Christ. Christ has gone before you to light your way, even through the darkest night of death itself. Christ Jesus is the light of the world, the light no darkness can overcome. Christ has conquered death in all its darkness. In that same darkness, Christ rises from the sleep of death.

Before sunrise, the stone is rolled away. The morning sun shows the Good News. Christ risen is revealed to the world. The light of Christ stands as a beacon to all the nations.

The Old Testament witnesses the saving work of Christ in and through history. This history is our history. All history on this planet is joined together in Christ Jesus. The faithful prophets of old looked forward to that light of Christ. We get to see that the light of Christ has already come. The light of Christ is here among us.

In Genesis chapter one, it is the light of Christ that causes light to shine in the darkness. The light of Christ is shown in the ark that saved Noah and his family. The light of Christ is shown in the ram that saved Isaac from the killing knife. The light of Christ is shown in the pillar of fire that led Israel for 40 years. The light of Christ is shown in Jonah, who spent three days in the belly of the great fish. The light of Christ breathes the Holy Spirit into Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones. The light of Christ shines forth as the fourth Man in the fiery furnace, saving Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The light of Christ’s victory over sin and the results of sin are shown in all His miracles of healing and raising the dead.

The light of Christ is your past, present and future. Look to the Word of the Lord, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

The light of Christ has dawned on us in our dungeon of sin. The light of Christ shown on us as we sat in darkness and in the shadow of death. Fear not death, hell or even your own sins. The purifying light of Christ has come. The light of Christ destroys darkness and sin. The light of Christ reveals all things that were hidden in ages past.

When light arrives, darkness evaporates. In the light of Christ, your sins are uncovered and swept away forever. In the light of Christ, your new day of heavenly life has already begun. In the light of Christ, you will never live in darkness. God grant this light to all of us through Jesus Christ. Amen.