December 21, 2025

Indianola Presbyterian Church, Columbus

“Light on the Longest Night"

Sermon by Rev. Trip Porch 

December 21, 2025                                                                                                                                              Based on  John 1:1-18

Today is the winter solstice. The longest night of the year. The shortest day.

Tonight, darkness lingers a little longer. Morning comes a little later. The sun feels more fragile, more precious. For centuries, people have marked this day as special because Long nights meant cold, danger, uncertainty. And still, across cultures and centuries, people choose to light candles. To tell stories. To trust that the light would return.

The solstice reminds us that darkness is not the same as evil. Darkness can be a season. A reality. A truth we have to live through. And still, light persists.

I grew up watching Star Wars, where, despite the cosmic, galaxy level space drama, the world felt simple. There was the Light Side and the Dark Side. Good and evil. Jedi and Sith. You always knew who to root for because of the color of their lightsabers, The light side of the force which was good  used blue or green. And the Dark side, which was always bad, used red. They talked about needing balance in the force, but you wanted the light side for the force to win. The story worked because it was clean and clear and uncomplicated.

But then the newer films came along and they told a different, more complicated story. The heroes are broken. Rey, the lead character carries strength in her but also doubt. And the villain Kylo Ren is dangerous but also wounded and still capable of redemption, humanity, and love. Even Darth Vader is not beyond redemption. The lines blur. Light and darkness are no longer separate realms. They live inside the same heart.

That feels closer to real life. Because our world is not just light and dark. It is moonlight and starlight. Daytime with storm clouds and shadows. Seasons where darkness lasts longer than we want it to. People are capable of deep goodness but also very real harm. Sometimes at the same time.

John 1 refuses simple binaries too. It opens not with a baby or angels or shepherds, but with poetry and mystery.

“In the beginning was the Word.”

John reaches all the way back to creation. The Logos. The word of God. Wisdom. Breath. Light. Life. This Word is present with God before anything else exists. And then John makes the claim that changes everything.

“The Word became flesh and lived among us.”

Before this there were binaries… the divine realm and the earthly realm. The Creator and the created, the Holy and the sinful. But in this season we begin to learn a new truth about God. The Holy God does not stay safely on the divine side of a divide. God crosses into human life. Skin and breath. Vulnerability and risk. Richard Rohr says it this way. “God loves things by becoming them.” God does not love the world from a distance. God loves the world by entering it.

That matters when John talks about light and darkness. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” John does not say the darkness will disappear. He does not say it is harmless. What He says is that the darkness does not win.

And friends, darkness is real right now. Not abstract. Not philosophical. This weekend in our own city, ICE has descended on Columbus. People have been arrested without warrants. Immigrants have been racially profiled. Families are afraid. Many have moved into hiding. The darkness for us this weekend is not metaphor. This is fear in real bodies. Trauma in real neighborhoods. Pain close to home.

John does not ask us to pretend that darkness is not there. But John invites us to remember what is also there… The light. Right alongside the darkness. 

Incarnation means God does not avoid suffering. God enters it. God dwells among those who are afraid, targeted, unseen. The light shines in the darkness, not after it is resolved, not once the night is over, but right there within it.

Here is what gives me hope. Even this weekend, I have seen light. I have seen so many people sharing information to protect immigrants. Neighbors checking in on neighbors. Folks showing up to support immigrant owned businesses. Lawyers offering help. Faith communities opening doors. People choosing courage over silence. Solidarity over fear.

A light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.

This is what John calls witnessing. He introduces us to John the Baptist who comes to witness to the light. Not to deny the darkness, but to point toward what is true even inside it. Witnessing means telling the truth about harm and telling the truth about love. Refusing to look away. Refusing to let fear have the final word.

John says that God’s glory is visible in Jesus. Not in spectacle or dominance, but in grace and truth embodied. A glory that looks like love made real in flesh and bone. Like dignity protected. Like mercy practiced. If that is what glory looks like in Jesus, then that is what it looks like when it shows up in us too.

We are not divine. We are fully human. Fallible. Limited. And still capable of goodness. Still capable of holiness. Still capable of bearing light.

For the last four Sundays we have been talking about Advent as resistance. Our faith does not ask us to banish the darkness for Good. That would be impossible.  It asks us to keep the flame alive in the longest nights. Holding the light means refusing despair. Refusing cruelty. Refusing silence. It means showing up. Speaking up. Sharing resources. Protecting the vulnerable. Trusting that small lights matter.

Today, on the winter solstice, we do not deny the darkness. We acknowledge it. And we light candles anyway. Because the Word became flesh. Because God has come close. Because love has entered the night and refuses to leave.

The darkness is real. So is the light.

The light shines in the darkness.  The darkness does not overcome it.

May we be people who witness to that truth.
May we hold the flame.
May we keep it alive.

Thanks be to God.

WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE

PRELUDE                                            Prelude on " O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"                                   Hal Hopson

INTROIT                                         “Freedom is Coming”                                      South-African Freedom Song

WELCOME                                                                   

One: This is the day that the Lord has made

All: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

*CANDLE LIGHTING                                                            Jeremy & Sydney Carroll

Reader: Advent is not a season of quiet waiting, but of holy defiance.

                To light a candle in the dark is to resist the darkness with hope.

                With each small flame kindled, we declare that God’s light still shines,

                and we will not despair.

                Today we light a candle to be reminded of Incarnate Love.

                The Word became flesh and lived among us.

                 In Jesus, light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

                This candle is a flame of resistance against the powers of death and shadow.

All:   We welcome God-with-us, Love in flesh and bone.
          We will bear the light of Christ, for the world still waits for God’s  love to shine through us.

*Hymn 88                       “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” verses 1, 6-7                     VENI EMMANUEL

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION                                                                                                                                                   Mike Ayers

Word of Light,

We confess that we often fear the dark around us and within us.

We turn away from hard truths.

We shrink from the needs of our neighbors.

We doubt that our small flame could make any difference.

Forgive us.

Stir our hearts again with your mercy.

Shine through our shadows and make us whole.

Teach us to carry the light of Christ with gentleness and boldness,

that we may join you in healing this world you love.

Amen.

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

*RESPONSE OF PARDON 90            “Wait for the Lord” (2x)                         WAIT FOR THE LORD

*PASSING OF THE PEACE                                       

     One:   The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,

     All:      And also with you.

WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD

ANTHEM                                        “Soon and Very Soon”     arr. Jack Schrader

CHILDREN’S MESSAGE                         Marie Boozer

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

SCRIPTURE    John 1:1-18   CEB 

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. “The Word was with God in the beginning.” Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word nothing came into being. What came into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light. A man named John was sent from God. He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him everyone would believe in the light. He himself wasn’t the light, but his mission was to testify concerning the light. The true light that shines on all people was coming into the world. The light was in the world, and the world came into being through the light, but the world didn’t recognize the light. The light came to his own people, and his own people didn’t welcome him. But those who did welcome him, those who believed in his name, he authorized to become God’s children, born not from blood nor from human desire or passion, but born from God. The Word became flesh and made his home among us. We have seen his glory, glory like that of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. John testified about him, crying out, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than me because he existed before me.’” From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace; as the Law was given through Moses, so grace and truth came into being through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made God known.” 

SERMON                                                                                                  Rev. Trip Porch

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

HYMN 94                            “Now the Heavens Start to Whisper”                                           JEFFERSON

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE  followed by the Lord’s Prayer

TIME OF OFFERING   online giving is available at  www. indianolapres.org/give

OFFERTORY   “Now the Heavens Start to Whisper”  Michael Burkhardt

*OFFERTORY RESPONSE 79       “Light Dawns on a Weary World” verse 3              TEMPLE OF CHRIST

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION 

God of every spark and flame,

Bless these offerings. Use them to warm cold places, to feed the hungry, heal the hurting,

and brighten the shadows of this world. Kindle generosity in us, and let our lives shine with your love.

Amen.

*HYMN 133                                   “O Come All Ye Faithful”                                               ADESTE FIDELES

TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING

CHARGE & BENEDICTION

CHORAL RESPONSE                        “Amen”                               African American Traditional

POSTLUDE                           Finale on "Adeste Fidelis"                                Charles Callahan                                      

 Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452