This message invites us into a profound meditation on the difference between religious monuments and living faith. Drawing from John 1, we encounter the stunning truth that 'the Word became flesh and dwelt among us'—God didn't come to build cathedrals but to dwell in people. The sermon challenges us to consider whether we've become like the empty European cathedrals: beautiful on the outside, preserving tradition and symbols, but lacking the transformative life those symbols were meant to point toward. We're reminded that we are living stained glass—broken pieces of different shapes, colors, and stories—but when Christ's light shines through us, we become something breathtaking. The central promise echoes throughout: 'The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.' This isn't poetry; it's a guarantee. We don't generate our own light; we're made to reflect His. The stories of Gil (a former Navy pilot who vowed to kill Muslims but now leads them to Christ), the skate shop in war-torn Sarajevo, and Maria/Jose (freed from trafficking and transformed into God's intended identity) demonstrate that God specializes in redemption where darkness seems permanent. These aren't just inspiring tales—they're windows into what happens when ordinary people allow God's light to shine through their brokenness into the world's darkest places.