It was one of the greatest rescue missions in recent times. In 2018 twelve young boys of the ‘Wild Boar’ junior soccer team had become trapped in a cave system in Chiang Rai province, northern Thailand. Waiting out time as they sat in darkness, they had no way to navigate through the restrictive bends of the cave system which were filling with water and prevented a passage of escape. They were helpless to save themselves and with further approaching rains in the monsoon season, their situation was dire.
Authorities from around the world worked collaboratively on an evacuation plan. A complex rescue operation involving experts in hydraulics, geology and meteorology was co-ordinated by the Thai military. More than 100 divers, numerous rescue workers, representatives from about 100 governmental agencies, 900 police officers and 2,000 soldiers were involved, requiring ten police helicopters, seven ambulances, 700 diving cylinders and the pumping out of more than one billion litres of water.
Commencing on July 8, the evacuation took three days to accomplish[1]. The world watched on, holding its collective breath, fearful for the group’s safety, desperate to hear some good news—then rejoiced when that good news came—that all the boys and their coach were brought out of the cave to safety. The rescue was dubbed ‘a miracle’ and various documentaries on the cave rescue have since been made. One is titled “out of the dark”.
Like the young boys in the Thailand cave, we too were once trapped in darkness. We too could not help ourselves and needed to be rescued. The situation we were in was even more dire. The cave we were trapped in was the demonic underworld, the dominion of darkness. Ever since Adam and Eve brought sin into the world by listening to the devil and themselves instead of God, humanity is born in bondage to sin and we cannot free ourselves. We were under the power of the devil and consigned to be trapped in the cave of the Kingdom of Darkness forever.
But God took the responsibility upon himself to save us in a three-day rescue mission even greater than that of the boys trapped in the Chiang Rai caves. God came to earth in the person of Christ, to become one of us, born just like us, except without sin. Jesus is the new Adam who listened to his Father and perfectly obeyed the law and fulfilled all righteousness for us.
Sadly, in the Chiang Rai Cave rescue Saman Kunan, a former Royal Thai Navy Seal who had descended into the cave to bring the boys out, perished in the attempt[2]. God’s miraculous rescue of his people cost the rescuer his life too; the life of his one and only Son. Jesus took the lowest place and humbled himself to the point of death on a Cross to secure our salvation with his own holy and precious blood. After Jesus suffered, died and was buried, he descended into that dark, dark cave; the unholy home of evil; the place of despair and torment. He descended into hell, to preach to the kingdom of darkness his victory; that not even death could defeat him; that by his resurrection he had secured the resurrection of his faithful people and that he is Lord with authority over all things.
Paul explains in Colossians 1 that it is by Jesus’ perfect sacrifice that the Father has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14). We sing of this in the Advent hymn “O come, O come, Immanuel”:
O come, Thou rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny,
From depths of hell Thy people save
And give them victory o’er the grave
Various painters depicted Jesus’ descent to hell and his liberation of the captives in their artworks, like Frans Franken’s c1630 piece “The harrowing of Hell”.
Our life began in darkness, inside our mother’s womb, so too our spiritual life began in darkness. But Peter tells us that though we were once not a people, now we belong to the people God has chosen for himself. Once we had not received mercy, but now God has showered his mercy upon us in Jesus. That happened on the day God called us from darkness into the light of his Son when were born again by water and the Spirit.
When the boys were rescued from the darkness and death of the cave and brought into the light of day, they praised those who had saved them. God has rescued you to tell of his praises to those around you. “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
God has gathered you to himself and thereby the holy communion of saints of all times and places to declare his praises to a world cloaked in the darkness of sin. All around us people are stumbling and falling as they walk in the darkness. Walking in darkness is the same as walking by the flesh not by the Spirit, walking by sight not by faith, walking by human ways of trying to achieve and accomplish righteousness and holiness rather than receiving them through Christ as a free gift. Before our theme verse, Peter says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”
Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,” and,
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.” (1 Peter 2:6-8).
This promise is true for you too: whoever trusts in him will never be put to shame. The faith that sees Jesus as the precious stone will see and have everything they hope for. That’s why Peter says in 3:15 that we must always be ready to give a reason for the hope we have—or in the words of our theme verse: “declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
As we reflect on what it means to be called out of darkness into his wonderful light, to serve God as his witnesses to a world with darkened hearts and minds, I’d like to highlight two things.
The first is, we are not the light. Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). It is only by being baptised into Christ, covered over by him, that we are light. When baptisms are held and a candle is presented to the person baptised, we are reminded of Jesus’ words:
“You are the light of the world. A city a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).
A few weeks ago, when we focused on ‘holy priesthood’ we heard how a young boy was asked: “What is a saint?” Looking at the saints depicted in the stained glass windows, he answered: “A saint is someone who the light shines through.”
The second thing to note, then, is that we are not to light a lamp only to hide it under a bowl. In Christ, we are to shine his light. The Psalmist puts it this way: “For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.” (Psalm 56:13). How do we walk before God in the light of life? How do we follow Jesus as the light of the world, and not turn aside to darkness? The Psalmist says: “The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” (Psalm 19:8). Since you have the light of God’s word which will remain long after the grass withers and the flowers fade, live confidently by that word, that you have not only light for your own path, but light to shine for others. If we encourage others to walk by the light, let us carefully attend to the word of God too.
It is a dark world, and a terrifying world at times. A broken world. A hurting and hurtful world. A lost world, that is stumbling in darkness. But it is in dark places that light shines and drives away the darkness. A poem titled ‘The candle’ presents this well:
His light am I to shine where he shall say;
And lamps are not for sunny rooms nor for the light of day.
But for the dark places of the earth,
Where shame and wrong and crimes give birth.
Or for the milky twilight gray,
Where wandering sheep have gone astray.
Or where the lamp of faith grows dim
And souls are groping after him.
And sometimes a flame we find,
Clear shining through the night,
So dark we cannot see the lamps,
But only see the light.
So may I shine his love and his flame
That [others] might glorify his name. (Author Unknown)
Darkness brings fear, but children of God, you are no longer in the darkness that you should be afraid. Your Father in heaven has come and put the light on for you by giving you his own Son to shine his light in your hearts. He has won the victory over sin, death and the devil. He says “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:17-18). Therefore not even the gates of hell will prevail over his church (Matthew 16:18).
May we then join with the Psalmist and declare: “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). Amen.
[1] https://www.dfat.gov.au/crisis-hub/thailand-cave-rescue
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tham_Luang_cave_rescue
