Hi everyone,

This weekend we encounter the most famous Scripture Citation…at least at football games, John 3:16.  As Christians, we know God so loved us, yet we are often afraid of the light so we walk in shadows and darkness like Nicodemus.  

Pastor Tim
“God has led you to the desert, and spoken to your Heart.”

Mount of Olives Lutheran Church

3546 E. Thomas Rd

Phoenix, AZ 85018

602-956-1620 office

The Great Invitation: Stepping into the Light

We’ve all had those mornings where the alarm goes off, and the first thing we do is shield our eyes. The sunlight streaming through the window feels like an intruder. In that moment, the darkness of our blankets feels safe, warm, and—most importantly—controllable.

Today’s readings describe a God who is constantly “turning on the lights.” From the call of Abraham to the midnight conversation with Nicodemus, God is pulling humanity out of the shadows. But as John 3 reminds us, there is a tension: The Light has come into the world, but often, we prefer the dark.

The Risk of the Call (Genesis & Romans) The journey of faith begins with a departure. In Genesis 12, God tells Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.”

Abram had to leave the “known” (the shadows of his past) for an “unknown” future lit only by God’s promise. Paul picks up this thread in Romans 4, explaining that Abraham wasn’t justified because he checked all the right boxes, but because he trusted the Light. The Darkness: Staying where it’s comfortable, relying on our own “works” or heritage. The Light: Stepping out into the unknown, trusting that God’s grace is sufficient.

It is much easier to stay in the of  comfort of current our lives—where we understand the rules—than to follow a God who leads us into a new territory of grace.

The Midnight Seeker (John 3) Then we meet Nicodemus. He is a “ruler of the Jews,” a man of high standing, yet he comes to Jesus at night. Why the dark? Perhaps he was afraid of what his colleagues would think. Perhaps he wasn’t ready to fully commit. Nicodemus represents all of us who want a “side hustle” with God without letting the Light change our entire lives.

Jesus meets him in that darkness but refuses to let him stay there. He introduces the most radical concept in scripture: The New Birth. To be “born again” (or born from above) is to be fundamentally reoriented. You cannot be “sort of” born. You are either in the womb of the dark, or you are out in the light of the world.

The Verdict: Why We Hide Jesus gets to the heart of the human condition in verses 19-20. He says the Light has come, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

This isn’t just about “bad people” doing “bad things.” It’s about exposure. * In the dark, we can pretend we are fine.

• In the dark, we can manage our own image.
• In the dark, we don’t have to admit we are lost.

The Light is uncomfortable because it shows the dust on the floor and the cracks in the wall. But—and this is the Gospel—the Light doesn’t expose us to shame us; it exposes us to heal us.

For God So Loved We often quote John 3:16 in isolation, but it is the answer to our fear of the light.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…”

God didn’t send the Light into the world to condemn the world (v. 17), but to save it. If you are hiding in the shadows today—hiding your shame, your doubt, or your past—know that the Light is not a searchlight looking for a criminal. It is a sunrise bringing a new day.

Abraham left his home. Nicodemus eventually stepped out of the shadows to help bury Jesus. Both had to make a choice: The comfort of the dark or the clarity of the Light.

Jesus is the Light that has come. He is the one who was lifted up, like the serpent in the wilderness, so that we could look to Him and live. Don’t stay under the covers of “good enough” or “too far gone.” The sun is up. It’s time to walk.