“Let there be light.” The first words God ever speaks. Let there be light still reflects the bright warmth of our holiday season. We brighten our churches, our homes, our yards, and our work places as we remind ourselves of the coming of Jesus, “our light.” Our Jewish friends use the menorah to celebrate the Hanukah miracle of faith defeating evil. The Quakers have a unique expression. Instead of saying, “I’ll pray for you,” they promise to pray by saying, “I’ll hold you in the light!” Light illumines. It warms. It destroys darkness and lifts spirits. It is the ancient echo of the prophet Isaiah who, in our first reading, reminds us that if we comfort the poor, “…light will rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday.”
Light is a necessary commodity for life and lends itself well as a symbol of discipleship. As followers of Jesus, we are called to be people who illumine, guide, and reflect the goodness of Jesus who is the “light of the world.” We, as his followers, are directed to be light for others so that by our actions, others may see God’s goodness shining through us. This process was begun at our baptism when we received a lighted candle as a sign of our new life in Jesus. As part of every baptismal ceremony parents and family hear: “Receive the light of Christ. …You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk always as a child of the light.”
Today’s Gospel reminds us of that fact, “You are the light of the world.” This is Jesus’ invitation to us. He challenges us to brighten our world with our brilliance. How well we do that can be determined by how well we reflect our light to others by what we do and don’t do. A smudge of ashes on our forehead on Ash Wednesday won’t do it. Wearing a cross around our neck won’t do it, nor will a “fish” emblem attached to our car necessarily enlighten our journey or that of others. The best way to be light in our world is to shine before others through our lifestyle, our acts of love, and our constant example.
We call ourselves Christians, Christ-bearers who live in such a way that our existence reflects the light of Christ. If we enlighten nothing, we may talk a good story, but no one will be enlightened because we bear no light ourselves. The only way to reveal light is to be light! It is just that simple. Our illumination of human darkness with a single ray of light is more convincing than all the religious chitchat we engage in. Save your breath! Each day, the gloom of the world will be dazzling bright because the glow of our actions will begin to erase darkness from our world. Remember: Our treatment of all people in society is a reflection of our relationship with God.
What that lifestyle looks like is reflected in a prayer written by Theresa of Avila, the fifteenth century Spanish mystic and Carmelite nun:
“Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which He looks with compassion on this world.
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good.
Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.”
- ---Deacon Wilson Shierk