Well, despite the rainy weather we’ve been experiencing these last few days, the sun has peaked out from the clouds from time to time. Doesn’t it feel good to experience the warmth of the sun after so many cloudy and rainy days? Yes it does!
The Sun is the most prominent object in our solar system. It is the largest of objects and could hold over 1 million earth within it! It is basically an orb of gas that continually undergoes something similar to nuclear reactions. Its surface temperature is about 11,000 degrees fahrenheit while the core of the sun is about 27 million degrees! What that means is that we will never be able to explore the sun up close. It reminds me of the joke where two Armenian astronauts are discussing this possibility. One says to the other, “We could make a name for ourselves by traveling to the sun!” The other one says, “That’s impossible! We would burn up!” “Well” the first one says, “we could go at night!”
The sun appears to have been active for 4.6 billion years and has enough fuel to keep burning for another 5 billion years or so. At the end of its life, when its fuel is consumed, it will start to swell up and eventually consume our earth and neighboring planets. Then, after another billion years, it will collapse into a white dwarf— the end product of stars like ours. Then, it may take another trillion years for it to cool down completely. I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on being around for that event!
Wow! We are talking about things we cannot understand! But what I understand is that we have a Creator who knew what he was doing. The God who created the universe and all that it contains, designed the arrangement of things so that we could live. Interestingly enough, the earth is just the right distance from this fiery star so as to sustain life with light and warmth. Not too much; not too little. Just enough.
But something happened in our story of creation. The earth grew cool. Or rather, we grew cold-hearted. Our first parents turned against this loving Creator and separated themselves from the source of life and happiness. That set our world on a course that was opposed to God’s loving design. Some of that history is revealed to us in the classical stories of the Old Testament. We fell from grace and grew distant from God and from one another.
But like the sun that continues to shine even in the darkness, God’s love could not be quenched. Like the sun that holds the planets in their orbits, God held us close and would not let us wander too far.
And then we are told that in the fullness of time, when everything was right, God intervened in human affairs to save us from certain death and separation. This was not something we could do on our own power. Only a power outside of us could accomplish that kind of reconciliation. This work of reconciling the human family to God’s love was shared by the patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The work of salvation was furthered by Moses and by the great prophets of Israel. And, finally, this work was fulfilled and accomplished by God’s own Son, Jesus, whose birth in the world set us on a course back to God’s grace.
This Jesus did and said many things. All of his words and actions indicated that God was still very much part of our existence. His healing miracles, his forgiveness of people’s sins, his words of compassion and love all pointed to a Creator who was still very much involved in our lives and who loved us deeply— deeply enough to initiate our reconciliation.
And then, something tragic happened. Once again, our human family rejected the design of this loving God and did so by rejecting the one he sent. Jesus’ own people turned against him and, in the name of religion, nailed him to a tree. But what they didn’t understand is that the light of the sun cannot be hidden. The warmth of God’s love cannot grow cold. The fire of God’s justice and wisdom cannot be extinguished. As a result, something amazing happened after the death of Jesus.
The tomb which held his body could not contain him. The darkness of death could not stand the light of God’s love. The cold reality of death could not withstand the warmth of God’s love. And so, for the second time in our solar system’s history, a brilliant light appeared in our world. The one who had set the sun in its course billions of years ago raised his son to new life. And his son, Jesus, emerging from the tomb brought a brilliant new light into the world: the light of love, the light of justice, the light of truth; the light of mercy; the light of forgiveness; the light of eternal life. The light of Jesus is a light that will always shine. Long after our own sun burns itself out, the light of Christ will continue to shine. Long after our world grows cold; the light of Christ will keep us warm in eternity. Long after the stars and planets fade away; the love of God shining in Christ, will hold us in existence through eternity. Because God’s love in Christ will never end; we, too, will live forever.
But how do we begin to walk in the light of God’s love in a world that seems so dark? In so many ways, the world in which we live is eclipsed by the darkness of war, hatred, unbelief, secular values of materialism and self-determination. It seems very difficult, if not impossible, to experience the warmth of God’s love shining through so much darkness.
Again, we might look to our sun for an answer to this dilemma. We know that, at various times, the sun is eclipsed by the moon. During those eclipses, the light grows dim and we may stand in darkness. In ancient times, it was thought that a great dragon had swallowed the sun. Eventually, it would reappear. But now we know that it is during those eclipses when we are more able to study the sun. We seen the corona of the sun extended far beyond the darkness that envelopes it. The light of that corona stretches for thousands of miles into space. That is when the sun is most readily studies and explored.
Like that corona surrounding the sun, we reflect the light of God’s love to others. Even in the midst of so much darkness, people of faith bring the light of love, peace and justice to bear on our world. This occurs when we carry that light of Christ within us. In our words, thoughts and actions, we give evidence that the power of God’s love is still present in our world. What we realize and what others discover is that the Sun of Justice; the Son of Peace and the Son of Compassion still shines in our world through those who have embraced the life of Christ in their lives.
Easter presents us with a choice in this regard. Do we live as cold, lifeless, existence as do many of the dead planets which orbit the sun? Do we journey through this life failing to reflect God’s light to others? Or do we live as beings created in God’s image, reflecting the sun, bringing light and warmth to others? Each of us has the opportunity to recommit ourselves to staying close to the source of that light. As Jesus said, “You must let your light shine brightly before others so that they may see your light and give praise to your Heavenly Father.”
During this bright Easter Season, let us remember that the light shines in the darkness; the light shines in each of us. Let us share that light with all we meet!