Several years ago we went to one of the caves in Texas where they have tours of immense caverns. At the beginning of the tour, the guide showed us a little pen light. It gave off enough light to see where your car key should go, but that was about it.

After descending along well lit paths we came to what he called the main hall. He warned us that he was going to turn out the lights so we would experience absolute darkness. I was lovin' that don't you know. We huddled Tasha and Annie (this was pre Steph) and waited to be plunged into the great abyss (my interpretation). It was incredible. You could literally not see your hand if you put next to your nose.

The guide then said, "You remember that pen light?" We all grunted, "Yah, sure". Then he turned it on, and it lit up the hall. I not only released the death grip I had on Kari's arm, I had a theological "aha" moment.

Darkness is the absence of light. You can't add darkness to a lit room. All you can do is remove the light.

In the beginning of creation, the universe was dark, because there was nothing to produce light. Then God said, "Let their be Light" and the darkness faded away. Physically speaking if we didn't have the sun, the world would be in total darkness except, perhaps for any light coming from distant stars.

That's true with humanity as well. Once we learned to say no to God, we have lived in a darkened world. Not completely dark, but certainly not sunshine bright. Sin, war, death, disease have removed some of the created light . I fear that everyday the luminescence of the world dims. Hatred, fear, and just plain meanness seems to grow, turning down the light ever so slightly.

John understood darkness. He experienced it first hand. The community he was writing this Gospel for was isolated from the rest of society. They were probably under some form of persecution. We know that Christians were blamed for the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. This may have contributed to John's sense of darkness, as well as his blaming "the Jews" for all of the communities problems.

Whatever the reason, John knew darkness. He also knew what a little light could do. And, in some of the most beautiful poetry in all of scripture, he says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. 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."

Jesus, the light of the world, could not be overwhelmed by the darkness of sin and death. Jesus came to overpower the darkness. Even more than a penlight in a cavern, Jesus sheds saving light to a dark and broken world.

Then, we might ask, why is there still darkness? Why are there still wars, abuse, crime, hatred, murder, distrust, intolerance and ignorance if Jesus has filled the world with light?

Back n that cave, lit up by a triple A battery, we could turn away from the light and see nooks and crannies that were still dark. When we turned away from the light, it cast shadows that diminished the light. The light simply couldn't get to every spot of darkness. If I stepped out of the way, my shadow shifted and a place that was dark now had light.

The world has plunged into darkness because we have not taken the light into the whole world. We have stood in the way and kept the light of Christ from shining in the deepest darkest caves of our hearts. We're afraid of the dark, but we're even more afraid of turning on the light for fear we'll see, or worse, God will see our deepest secrets.

I don't mind telling you, that there are a couple of periods in my life that I just can't remember. They are as the darkened cave in my memory. I've done a lot of work toward turning on a light, but it's still dark. I'm usually OK with these dark corners of my memory, but sometimes I'm not. Fortunately, I have several pen lights set around when I need them.

Sometimes that all it takes. A little Light. A little Christ to transform the darkness into a sea of hope. Little Orphan Annie sang, "The sun will come out tomorrow". Hope, expectation, belief. A light shining in the darkness, and the darkness not overpowering it.

There are people in every part of the world who live in darkness. Who are trapped in despair, poverty, abuse and ignorance. The light of Christ burns dimly if at all. They are around the corner and behind a big rock and the light of Christ is blocked and they only see the shadow.

We who have seen the light of Christ must bear that light in the world. Even if we seem to be shadowed, we must take that small bulb and battery and offer at least a glimpse of Christ in every environment we encounter.

A glimpse. Perhaps that is all we can really offer. An act of kindness. A helping hand. A warm welcome. A word of comfort. A prayer. Glimpses of Christ's love and light.

As long as there is some cave somewhere that is still living in the shadows of death, despair, war, sin and evil, Christ's mission is incomplete. Our mission is incomplete.

Right here in Lee county, we have people who do not know the love, grace and peace of Jesus Christ. Right here there are people who can't see the love of Christ because they live in the shadow of a bad religious experience, unfair judgment and what I call biblical abuse - the use of the bible as a weapon that tears down instead of a ladder that lifts them up.

We have a great tool, a bright beacon of hope and love. It is in our liturgy. It's in our unrestrained welcoming. It's in our love of God and each other. We can take the light to those who need it. It only takes each of us to share our flashlight with someone who is still afraid of the dark.

I don't want to give away much of what I will say at our annual meeting in a few weeks, but I will say that I want 2007 to be a year of unapologetic evangelism. I don't mean pulling people away from other churches, rather pulling people away from the golf course, the television and the Sunday Morning sleep in. (We have an 11:00 service for goodness sake, not to mention a 5:00 Saturday service.) I want each family to bring one person to church for 2 services and then help shepherd them as they come to know us. Your son or daughter visiting from Detroit doesn't count.

This evangelism will, I hope, grow hands and feet. People come to see the love of God in Christ most often by experiencing what it means to feed, house, protect and visit the least of God's children, both as givers and receivers. They still need help in the destruction path of Katrina and Wilma. I hope we have a domestic mission trip this year, as well as one to the Dominican Republic.

The light of Christ can only find its way into the deepest cracks of rock if we take it there, or at least get out of the way of it. Yes, it can be scary to face the darkness, I know that well. But, I have found that if I try to walk in the dark knowing that I have a light if I need it, I am much more apt to venture there.

We have that light. It's Jesus Christ, the Son of God who was and is and will be. Share the light. Be a bearer of light, a bearer of Christ. Take him into the recesses of your soul and the dark places of our world. If we all do that, if we all give little glimpses of light, Christ will be illumined.

In that cave, one little lamp made the room much brighter. Imagine what we could have seen and done if each of us had a light no bigger than the one of the guide. We could have shone light into even the deepest crevice.

There is a verse in Matthew's Gospel that says, "let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven." I would add that by letting our light shine, we are shining the light of Christ. The very light that God called into being. The light that pierces the darkness and gives life to all people.