Becoming Like Christ: Grand Illumination
Wednesday, March 17
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Becoming Like Christ:
Grand Illumination
Exodus 13:21-22
Dr. Peter Rhea Jones
We had toured colonial Williamsburg before. Visiting Ellen’s sister Jan she insisted that we go with them to the “Grand Illumination”. I did not know what to expect. We arrived at dusk. We were soon in darkness with finally a bonfire or two. Through that memorable night walking, hearing great music, and being there for the lighting up of the grounds was downright memorable. You may have been there and done that.
Our biblical reading for Lent that we allow to address us comes from John, a distinctive one-of-a-kind gospel that itself along with I John is quite passionate about illuminating the dark. We gather around a rather famous saying of Jesus that is creatively situated during the Feast of Tabernacles celebrated annually in the holy city.
This festival commemorated a definitive time in Israel’s story: when the children of Israel were liberated from bondage in Egypt but not yet settled in the security of the promised land. Rather they journeyed uneasily in the wilderness existing between their starting place and their goal. During this challenging time, God guided them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21-22). They followed the light.
What is cool is definitely the context Jesus spoke into on an exceptional evening in Jerusalem during the festival. It was celebrated as a grand illumination.
Each night a joyous celebration took place in the court of the women. Picture large golden lamps there with golden bowls on each lamp. On the fifteen steps in the vicinity musicians played harps, zithers, cymbals, and trumpets. The people danced with torches in their hands. In fact, one exceedingly talented dancer danced with eight torches, none of them touching the ground.
Into this memorable illuminated night, Jesus spoke his familiar “I am the light of the world” (8:12), drama, memorability, the boldness of this saying stand out. After all, the light was associated with God, the light of the people (Psalm 27:1). Light spoke of both revelation and salvation, ”in him was life, and that life was the light of humanity” (John 1:4). Jesus seized a striking moment to disclose his own identity.
You are not surprised that Jesus was met with pushback from this audacious claim. They objected to his testimony about himself and sought to discredit his claim and dissuade the people present. Jesus appears quite confident in himself and his own sense of identity. He is not readily dismissed or intimidated despite resistance and criticism. Jesus was grounded in his unity with God announced from the very first sentences of the Gospel of John (1:1).
We do not live so much in the time in Decatur when people moved to town and wanted to know where they could find a doctor, a dentist, and a good church. While generally, we do not live in an era when our culture opposes the church either, it is often indifferent to it. Doing church is harder.
Yet Jesus still illuminates the lives of those who follow him. I am personally struck lately by what I have come to see as the influence of Jesus in the last century. There were ugly world wars, a terrible depression in the twentieth century, an incredibly sinister effort to exterminate the Jews, bad enough that even theologians lost hope in progress. Who could blame them? They came up with some timely theology.
They did not pay much attention to the illumination Jesus was bringing into the 20th century at the same time. You and I may not have noticed either. What are we talking about? Just this. Jesus changed the course of history in the twentieth century in two countries in particular. What are we talking about?
First, the teaching of Jesus played a pivotal role in India eventually helping it gain its independence. Gandhi, the leader of the struggle for Indian independence, read the Sermon on the Mount as a young man studying law in England. It made a lasting impact. He kept a picture of Jesus on his wall. Later he fashioned love of the enemy and turning the other cheek into a freedom movement of nonviolence. He applied the light of Jesus.
Martin Luther King had a dream in the US. He too read the Sermon on the Mount and led in a courageous and dangerous movement for racial freedom and equality. He saw the light. Others saw the light. The light of Jesus brought breakthrough. Indeed the light of Jesus changed the course of history in our country too. It is rather amazing when you think of it. We are talking two millennia later. The light still shines. It can illuminate your life and mine. It can bless your children and grandchildren.
The offering was being taken up. The accomplished pianist began to play a simpler melody than usual. Person after person reflected shock and then joy as it became obvious what she was playing: “Brighten the corner where you are. “The illumination movement still happens in Lenten season.
About “Becoming Like Christ” (Weekly Lenten Reflections)
In 2019, we developed a 7-week long series packed full of devotions called “Exploring Humanity and Divinity.” It was about wrestling with our humanity as we seek to be transformed into the likeness of Christ.
After a tumultuous last year, and with tensions high on political, cultural, and social levels, it seems that “wrestling” is just as relevant today as it was two years ago.
In that spirit, we believed it would be healthy to resurrect a similar theme to this year’s Lenten devotional series: Becoming Like Christ.