John 8:12-20

Yeshua [Jesus’ name in Aramaic] spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light which gives life.” (John 8:12, CJB)

My dad used to tell stories of going on a cave tour. Inevitably he would get to this point with my sister and I in rapt attention:

We would walk, crawl, squeeze and climb. Eventually we would get inside a well-lit chamber. Our guide would ask everyone to turn everything with lights off… and to cover up anything that could glow in the dark… I forgot my watch only once… After the guide asked everyone, he had us all stand really still… and would turn off the lights…the cave always went completely dark, darker than anything I could imagine… so dark that the darkness was pressing against my eyes. We stood like that, for… well, it seemed like hours… but eventually, the guide would strike a match, and let it burn… in that one instant the light from a single match was blinding, and, as it burned, that one little match provided enough light to see detail in the cave walls, more detail than we could see with the lights on, it felt.

Light has the power to expel darkness Light has the power to invade the darkest corners and . Even one little match has the power to light up an entire cave.

We seem to be used to living in the darkness, let’s invite the light of God to invade our lives, expel the darkness and shine a light on all that we say, think and do. Light has that power, and the Light of Life is Christ himself.

Lord, help us walk in the light. Amen!

~ Pastor John Sipf, St. Mark’s Ev. Lutheran Church (Verdon) and St. Peter’s Ev. Lutheran Church