Tag Archives: Light of the World

Being Light

Kingdom Building

November 23, 2019

Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:11-20

May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. –Colossians 1:11-14

In the politics of the United States, dark money refers to political spending by nonprofit organizations that are not required to disclose their donors. I thought of these groups when I read the above scripture where it says: He has rescued us from the power of darkness. I have no problem with nonprofit organizations who advocate for their interest and do disclose their donors. I do have a problem with groups who do not share their donors’ identity and do not advocate for their interest and often support ads that basically are unsubstantiated character assassinations about candidates they do not support.

We have not only inherited a share of the light we inherited it so we can share it. We are called to let [our] light shine before others, so that they may see good works and give glory to [our] Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we fall prey to the darkness in our world today. Grant us the courage and the strength to be your light in our world. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Salt and Light

Epiphany
February 4, 2017

Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:13-20

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it give light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven. –Matthew 5:13-14

Can you image a life without salt? Yes, we are encouraged to limit our salt intake but not eliminate it. Salt is essential for life. Never in my lifetime do I remember a time when I felt the need for the saltiness of Christ to be sprinkled throughout our world then I do now. We hold the salt shakers.

People are angry and afraid, dealing with changes that may be good but are scary. People are lashing out at many wrong things unwilling to face the real issues of our time. I learned in Sunday school this week that the seven deadly sins identified in the Catholic faith are prioritized with pride being the worst sin. I think my class felt that greed had perhaps overtaken pride as being the worst. Both are rampant, neither support well our call to love one another as both establish a hierarchy of personhood that is not of God.

Can you image a life without light? Our totally blind brothers and sisters in Christ live without light so we know it is possible. The blind benefit from the light others channel to them through audio books, public transportation, and training guide dogs. The light Jesus is talking about in our scripture today is what I might call soul light through the gift of the Holy Spirit. We benefit others by sharing soul light in love.

Prayer: Lord, make us salt make us light in these challenging times. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the new Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

Light in a Dark World

light-of-the-world Advent
December 19, 2016

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 9:2-7

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined. –Isaiah 9:2

I cleaned out my purse this afternoon. It was stuffed with the many receipts from Christmas shopping and the many other sundry pieces of paper that end up in my purse because there is nowhere to throw them away at the time I need to dispose of them. In my digging, I found a tiny little flashlight, don’t remember when I got it. It is just slightly bigger than a double A battery, has an advertisement on the side, a very bright LED light bulb, and a key chain on the opposite end. Such a light would be very useful in an emergency but is of no use in the clutter of my purse.

Did the people Isaiah describes profit from seeing the great light? I wonder how often God shines a great light on dark situations and the people who see it fail to comprehend what it illuminates?

Advent is a time to follow the beams of light that God shines showing paths of peace and justice that lead to God’s love being manifested. Seeing the light requires us to remove the logs from our eyes that blind us to God’s truth. Often, we may already know God’s truth but are unwilling to accept it because it does not fit our perfect plan for ourselves. Sharing our fears and feelings through prayer with God is a great way to start toward finding the common ground upon which together with God through Christ, we can find our way.

Prayer: God, grant us the vision to see our way through the light of your love and the courage to step out in faith and follow it. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, by permission. All rights reserved.

Light

Light bulbAdvent
December 13, 2014

Scripture Reading: John 1:6-8, 19-28

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. — John 1:6-8

My mother, born in 1908, grew up in a time when light, in general, was provided by the sun, the moon, on perhaps on a very clear night by the stars. The family had lanterns and candles, if absolutely necessary, but their lives were basically shaped around the natural availability of light.

My “guest” room is actually my office filled with a computer and monitor, two printers, and a modem with seven little blue and green blinking lights all in a row. Not to mention the digital clock by the bed and the digital telephone on the desk. The first night Mom came to stay with me, after she had gone to bed, she called out to tell me that I had left several little lights on in the room. I had shut the computer down and I actually had no idea what she was talking about when I entered the room and began to look around and there they all were. I recalled that she had frighten my sister once when she failed to answer the telephone. Arriving at Mom’s home to see what was wrong, my sister discovered that Mom routinely unplugged the phone by her bed to turn off the little light. The discovery of electricity and the electric light bulb changed our lives forever. Those of us who did not live through that change, take the availability of artificial light for granted every day. Even when the electricity is off for some reason we have our battery powered backups.

Advent is a time of year, each year, when we as individuals and as communities of faith throughout the world take the time to remember the time before the Light of Christ was introduced into the world. We do this for many reason, but one of them surely is to remind us to not take the gift of the Christ Child for granted.

Prayer: Light of the World, let your light shine through and among us so that the whole world can know a clearer vision of your love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.