Light is necessary for sight. It provides the illumination needed for our field of vision to reach our brains and be processed into images. Without light, we see nothing.
Yet, even with light, we don’t see everything.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, everyone has a blind spot in their retina where the optic nerve connects. No light-sensitive cells are in this area, so this part of your retina can’t see. Elsewhere, when light hits the retina, special cells called photoreceptors turn the light into electrical signals that travel from the retina through the optic nerve to the brain, which turns the signals into the images we see.
We usually don’t notice our blind spots since the spot in one eye doesn’t match the spot in the other eye, so the other eye supplies missing information. Also, sometimes, the brain fills in missing information with what it thinks should be there. This is one form of optical illusion.
Of course, there are many other kinds of blind spots. Some can cause accidents if we miss seeing a car in the lane next to us when we’re changing lanes. But these are personal examples.
Some blind spots are contagious. When enough people share them, a false truth emerges that may stay with them for generations. Discovering our blindness can sometimes inspire us to look for other blind spots. More often, however, we’re apt to become defensive, choosing to continue in comfortable blindness.
None of us are exempt from either of these options.
The Gospel of John begins with a most profound message of good news. The light has come into the world. But in our theme scripture for this week, the writer reminds us that not everyone saw the light. John punctuates the significance, reminding us that Jesus is the very Word that created the world.
John’s prologue is at the very heart of our Christian witness. His witness lies at the foundation of our faith that Jesus Christ is God living among us. In just a few verses, John tells us how significant this good news is for the world.
This wasn’t the first time God addressed the subject of divine light. From time to time, a communal blindspot causes darkness to settle over the land and people. Other times, calamity creates a feeling of darkness. God occasionally intervenes in human history to ease suffering and correct injustice.
God chose to live among us to save us. In doing so, Jesus lights up the dark places, exposing the brokenness of people and systems. Shining light into the world’s blind spots, removing our blindness, and inspiring us to see ourselves as God sees us.
The light that came into the world was not just for the privileged or even just for humankind. Jesus was the light of our creator, not in the form of a mighty king, but in common, ordinary, everyday living flesh.
The Word was in the world, and though God made the world through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him.
John 1:10
Christ came into the world so that the world could be saved. Not saved by a warrior wielding weapons of mass destruction but by you and me.
God sent light into the world, Emmanuel, to reveal God’s nature to us and God’s love for us. Christ came into the world to bring light into our darkness. Once our eyes are opened and we recognize Christ, we recognize that God’s nature is love. And we recognize God’s will is that we love our neighbor as ourselves.
Then and only then can the lion sleep with the lamb. Then and only then will a world that spends billions on wars seek to fight poverty instead. Then and only then will a world that values people for what they produce see that we are all God’s beloved.
Once we recognize Jesus Christ, we’re better able to recognize Christ in each other. Strangers will be welcomed. And we can recognize Christ in each other and in ourselves.
Once we have the light of Christ as our Lord and Savior within us, our eyes are opened to injustice, to the plight of our neighbor, to Christ among us, and to God’s hand in everyday human events.
Once our eyes are opened, Christ can offer us the divine gift of salvation. Once our eyes are opened, we can become Christ’s brothers and sisters and children of God.
You can join us each Sunday in person or online by clicking the button on our website’s homepage –Click here to watch. This button takes you to our YouTube channel. You can find more information about us on our website at FlintAsburyChurch.org.
This is a reminder that we publish this newsletter called the Circuit Rider each week. You can request this publication by email. Send a request to FlintAsburyUMC@gmail.com or let us know when you send a message through our website. We post an archive of past editions on our website under the tab Connect – choose Newsletters.
Pastor Tommy
Parts of our series are inspired by the Reverend Dawn Darwin Weak. Daring to Connect: Advent as Adventure. Danvers, MA: Chalice Press, 2024.