Ian Williams - "The Light and Darkness Following Christmas" (December 29, 1996)

Sermon start time: 00:16. Sermon end time: 19:31.

The Gospel displays the Christmas message as containing both light and darkness. Like a painting, it is given its depth through the play of light and shade. There is both the light of the promised Messiah and the darkness of his (and our) prophesied suffering and death. Through this we see two main points: 1.) Though darkness is always present with us in this life, we can still expect to experience the light of God's truth and love; and 2.) The darkness has not overcome the light, as John puts it. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)

Key quotation: “The brightness of the Christmas message, and the light it shines into our lives, is surrounded by the various shades of darkness that we experience. It is not only that the light makes us aware of the darkness, but…the darkness allows us to see the promise and the reality of the light.”