I AM - the Light of the World
John 8:12
March 18, 2007
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
Have you ever had the experience of opening the curtains or raising the blinds on a bright
sunny day and suddenly seeing all the dust on the furniture that just seconds before was
invisible?
Or maybe when you've been traveling you've had the experience of waking up in the middle
of the night and stumbling on something as you made your way to the bathroom, because it
was dark and you couldn't see the obstacles.
Or maybe you've had to make numerous trips into a frightened child's room, to turn on the
light so that the little one can see that there really aren't any monsters hiding in the dark.
John 8:12
March 18, 2007
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
Have you ever had the experience of opening the curtains or raising the blinds on a bright
sunny day and suddenly seeing all the dust on the furniture that just seconds before was
invisible?
Or maybe when you've been traveling you've had the experience of waking up in the middle
of the night and stumbling on something as you made your way to the bathroom, because it
was dark and you couldn't see the obstacles.
Or maybe you've had to make numerous trips into a frightened child's room, to turn on the
light so that the little one can see that there really aren't any monsters hiding in the dark.
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have
the light of life." This is another of the "I AM" statements of Jesus, found only in the gospel of
John. As we have been exploring these various statements, we have been uncovering the way
that Jesus uses each of them to point to some blessing we will experience as we open our
hearts minds and spirits to the presence of the Holy One in our lives. We have discovered the
gifts of nourishment for our souls and guidance for the right action at the right time and the
right reason. Today we look at LIGHT.
Whether it's natural or humanly created, light serves many functions in our lives. Light helps
us see more clearly, reveals obstacles in our way, illuminates the places where cleaning is
needed, provides safety and security and helps us find our way.
In Jesus' spoken language of Aramaic "I am the light of the world," is Inana nuhre d'alma.
As we have discovered, Inana, the word translated "I AM" does not point to Jesus as a person -
the way I would say, "I am a woman, a mother, or the like. Rather it literally means "the I
within the I" or "the small I held within the Divine I AM," and so it points to God. Nuhre, the
word translated "light" carries the sense of that which illuminates, glows or shines forth. D'alma,
the word translated "world" carries the sense of that which has come into form or all created
existence.
It is the Light of Divine Love planted deep within the soul of each and every person that
helps us see what we need to see. Measured against the Light of Love and Compassion that we
see reflected in the life of Jesus we recognize the many ways in which our fears keep us from
loving freely; we begin to notice how holding on to past hurts can keep us from living fully alive
in the present moment; and we begin to understand that nursing anger at the wrongs others do
robs us of life. But the awesome thing is that the Divine Light doesn't just show us the ways we
fall short, Divine Light also illuminates the next steps in our journey as well as the obstacles we
must overcome or maneuver around and empowers us to take those steps, overcome obstacles
and make the needed changes -slowly turning step by step and inch by inch, until we live into
the fullness of who we are created to become.
But this is not a solo journey. Sometimes there is so much cloud cover in our lives that our
own light is barely visible. So it is that Jesus told his disciples "You are the light of the world. ...
let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your
Father in heaven." [Matthew 5:14 & 16]
There was a doctor who attended worship regularly, participated in a mid-week study and
spent time each day in meditation. For some time he had been meditating on the need to
recognize the spark of divine love within each and every person. So one day as he drove to his
office, the doctor prayed for the wisdom to recognize the Divine Light in the face of each of his
patients and then to love them as he loved God.
Later that morning his nurse told him that he had a new patient. When he opened the door
he saw the dirtiest, most disheveled man he had ever seen. The smell of alcohol, cigarettes and
body odor was almost more than the doctor could stomach. Just then the doctor remembered
that morning's prayer and wondered what there was to love about this bum. Finally he noticed
that the man had brand new shoelaces. "Well," the doctor thought, "I'll just start there. I'll love
him through his shoelaces." So he began to talk with the man, taking his history, doing a
physical exam and informing the man that his presenting problem was noting serious. The man
left and that was that.
Many weeks later a man arrived at the doctor's office and asked if he could talk with the
doctor for just a minute. At that very moment the doctor approached the desk to ask the nurse
a question. "Doctor," the handsome well-dressed man called out from across the desk. "I just
wanted to stop by to say thank you," the man continued.
The doctor could hardly believe his ears as the man said, "I can tell by your face that you
don't recognize me. I came to see you six weeks ago, but I look a lot different today than I did
then. You see, I had hit rock bottom. I'd been betrayed by everyone that I loved and lost
everything that mattered in my life. I'd been on a drinking binge, hadn't eaten a real meal or
bathed in weeks. I was ready to kill myself because my life was no longer worth living.
Somehow the thought entered my mind to give God one more chance. So I thought OK God,
show me one person who treats me with kindness and maybe I'll see that people aren't all bad
and life might be worth living. I happened to be walking by your office so I decided to come in.
When you entered the room, I expected you to treat me like the bum that I was, but you didn't.
You were so kind and you treated me with such respect. When you looked into my eyes, it felt
like you cared about me, despite how I smelled and looked. It was as if you looked beneath the
surface and saw the real me. And I knew I had to pull myself together and get back on track.
It's been hard and I'm still working on it. But I've come far enough that I wanted to stop by and
say "thank you for saving my life."
The Light of Divine Love lies in the heart of each and every person. When we open to that
Light we see more clearly, love more authentically and more faithfully follow the One who
shows us the power of that Light. In her book A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson puts it
this way:
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
About 20 years ago, I learned a meditation has helped me connect with the divine Light in
my life. I have shared it with some of you in a variety of settings. As we close I want to share it
with all of you. Please read the words with me as they appear on the screen.
I am the light
The light is within me
The light flows through me
The light surrounds me
The light protects me
I am the light.
There are some movements that go with this, please follow me as we say it again.
May we shine with God's Love so that others might come to see and recognize their own
Light! Amen.
the light of life." This is another of the "I AM" statements of Jesus, found only in the gospel of
John. As we have been exploring these various statements, we have been uncovering the way
that Jesus uses each of them to point to some blessing we will experience as we open our
hearts minds and spirits to the presence of the Holy One in our lives. We have discovered the
gifts of nourishment for our souls and guidance for the right action at the right time and the
right reason. Today we look at LIGHT.
Whether it's natural or humanly created, light serves many functions in our lives. Light helps
us see more clearly, reveals obstacles in our way, illuminates the places where cleaning is
needed, provides safety and security and helps us find our way.
In Jesus' spoken language of Aramaic "I am the light of the world," is Inana nuhre d'alma.
As we have discovered, Inana, the word translated "I AM" does not point to Jesus as a person -
the way I would say, "I am a woman, a mother, or the like. Rather it literally means "the I
within the I" or "the small I held within the Divine I AM," and so it points to God. Nuhre, the
word translated "light" carries the sense of that which illuminates, glows or shines forth. D'alma,
the word translated "world" carries the sense of that which has come into form or all created
existence.
It is the Light of Divine Love planted deep within the soul of each and every person that
helps us see what we need to see. Measured against the Light of Love and Compassion that we
see reflected in the life of Jesus we recognize the many ways in which our fears keep us from
loving freely; we begin to notice how holding on to past hurts can keep us from living fully alive
in the present moment; and we begin to understand that nursing anger at the wrongs others do
robs us of life. But the awesome thing is that the Divine Light doesn't just show us the ways we
fall short, Divine Light also illuminates the next steps in our journey as well as the obstacles we
must overcome or maneuver around and empowers us to take those steps, overcome obstacles
and make the needed changes -slowly turning step by step and inch by inch, until we live into
the fullness of who we are created to become.
But this is not a solo journey. Sometimes there is so much cloud cover in our lives that our
own light is barely visible. So it is that Jesus told his disciples "You are the light of the world. ...
let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your
Father in heaven." [Matthew 5:14 & 16]
There was a doctor who attended worship regularly, participated in a mid-week study and
spent time each day in meditation. For some time he had been meditating on the need to
recognize the spark of divine love within each and every person. So one day as he drove to his
office, the doctor prayed for the wisdom to recognize the Divine Light in the face of each of his
patients and then to love them as he loved God.
Later that morning his nurse told him that he had a new patient. When he opened the door
he saw the dirtiest, most disheveled man he had ever seen. The smell of alcohol, cigarettes and
body odor was almost more than the doctor could stomach. Just then the doctor remembered
that morning's prayer and wondered what there was to love about this bum. Finally he noticed
that the man had brand new shoelaces. "Well," the doctor thought, "I'll just start there. I'll love
him through his shoelaces." So he began to talk with the man, taking his history, doing a
physical exam and informing the man that his presenting problem was noting serious. The man
left and that was that.
Many weeks later a man arrived at the doctor's office and asked if he could talk with the
doctor for just a minute. At that very moment the doctor approached the desk to ask the nurse
a question. "Doctor," the handsome well-dressed man called out from across the desk. "I just
wanted to stop by to say thank you," the man continued.
The doctor could hardly believe his ears as the man said, "I can tell by your face that you
don't recognize me. I came to see you six weeks ago, but I look a lot different today than I did
then. You see, I had hit rock bottom. I'd been betrayed by everyone that I loved and lost
everything that mattered in my life. I'd been on a drinking binge, hadn't eaten a real meal or
bathed in weeks. I was ready to kill myself because my life was no longer worth living.
Somehow the thought entered my mind to give God one more chance. So I thought OK God,
show me one person who treats me with kindness and maybe I'll see that people aren't all bad
and life might be worth living. I happened to be walking by your office so I decided to come in.
When you entered the room, I expected you to treat me like the bum that I was, but you didn't.
You were so kind and you treated me with such respect. When you looked into my eyes, it felt
like you cared about me, despite how I smelled and looked. It was as if you looked beneath the
surface and saw the real me. And I knew I had to pull myself together and get back on track.
It's been hard and I'm still working on it. But I've come far enough that I wanted to stop by and
say "thank you for saving my life."
The Light of Divine Love lies in the heart of each and every person. When we open to that
Light we see more clearly, love more authentically and more faithfully follow the One who
shows us the power of that Light. In her book A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson puts it
this way:
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.
And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
About 20 years ago, I learned a meditation has helped me connect with the divine Light in
my life. I have shared it with some of you in a variety of settings. As we close I want to share it
with all of you. Please read the words with me as they appear on the screen.
I am the light
The light is within me
The light flows through me
The light surrounds me
The light protects me
I am the light.
There are some movements that go with this, please follow me as we say it again.
May we shine with God's Love so that others might come to see and recognize their own
Light! Amen.
