What in Blazes?

Reading Amount:

John 1:1-51

Central Verse:

"All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it." John 1:3-5 NRSV

Central Truth:

Jesus has conquered evil in the world. This is a past event that has occurred and the good news that Christ brings is still with us today.

Food For Thought (Questions about the text):
Gnosticism - a religious group in early Christianity who, among other things, placed the work of salvation in heaven not on earth. Based on your reading of the first chapter of John where do you think John is placing the work of salvation?

What is the role of John the Baptist in the beginning of this book?

Connections (Time with our society):

I'm a person who loves to camp and hike when I get the opportunity. When you camp you cannot underestimate the importance of light at night. Fire provides light, heat and security. A few years ago I went camping with a friend of mine on the Appalachian Trail (AT). We camp with very little gear, usually building a shelter if we need one, or sleeping out under the stars. We had decided to go out in the late winter for three nights of camping and hiking. The first two nights went well, however the third night it rained.

Being that it was our last night, it was freezing cold, and we didn't have any shelter so to speak we got up at roughly two in the morning and decided to hike our way out in the dark. Of course because of our minimalist camping style I didn't have a flash light and my friend only had a small key chain light really only good for checking the map.

Luckily for us it was one of those nights where even though it was raining it was oddly bright. We could clearly see the trail and the blue blazes that marked the AT. However, in this particular state park there was a trail marked with white blazes as well. No matter, we rolled up our gear and headed off down the trail. We walked. And we walked, and we walked some more constantly on the lookout for the next blue blaze which we continued to pass at regular intervals.

After roughly an hour of hiking to the car which should have only be thirty minutes we realized something was wrong. We should have been back to the car by now. So the next blaze that we saw my friend took out his small flash light, walked up to within inches of the tree. Flashed it on and saw a problem. We were on the white blaze not the blue blaze.

You cannot underestimate the importance of having light to show you the way in the forest. At the beginning of the gospel of John the author describes Jesus as a light coming and shining through the darkness, and the way that he words it is that the light is present tense. The light is still shining and the darkness is past tense. The darkness is over! The light that Christ brings into the world makes a difference in our lives and in the lives of everyone and the author of John is getting ready to show us that.

When we were lost on that trail I could have really used a light and the comfort that that light brings. I have since learned my lesson and take a flashlight with me camping, even when roughing it. Every day we carry the light of Christ with us and that light can, and does, over come all the darkness we see in the world around us.