Let Your Light Shine (1)

Sermon Title: "Let your light shine"

Scriptures: Matthew 5:14-16 & Isaiah 60:1-7

The sermon begins after a rousing Choral arrangement of "This Little Light of Mine"

AMEN! We are indeed walking in the light of God, praying in the light of God, singing in the light of God. Even though we took down the Christmas decorations yesterday we still celebrate the meaning of Christmas ... that God sent the light into the world, that Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness. Truly, we are walking in the light of God.Whenever we talk about "let your light shine," or "our mission is to shine our light," it is important to remember: the Light is from God. We may say: "let YOUR light shine," but what we really mean is: "Let the light of God shine through you." The LIGHT is God's goodness, God's love. And yet it is not wrong to say: "let YOUR light shine," because indeed ... the light is in you. Imago Dei -- we are created in the image of God. We have been given light of God. God put inside of you, deep in your heart, kind of like a divine spark. God has imprinted the divine nature on your heart and soul ... the nature of love, of joy, of self-giving. I can't think of a more positive message ... inside each one of us is the light of God. We have amazing possibilities of love, of giving, of serving, of bringing joy. God's light is inside you ... you have so much to give.Let your light shine means don't hide your light. Last week, the gospel of John told us the light can never be extinguished, that darkness did not overcome it. The light is always there within you, in your soul, in your heart. BUT, the light can be hidden. God's light still shines, but we can hide it deep within us. We can cover it up, repress it. I truly believe that people like Timothy McVeigh or Lee Malvo, not to mention Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, have the light of God buried deep in their hearts ... but they've covered it up with bushel baskets and let darkness take control. That's the kind of thought that makes me really embarrassed when I realize that I sometimes do the same thing ... cover up the light within me and contribute darkness instead. Therefore Jesus said: "You are the light of the world. NO one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp-stand, and it gives light to all in the house." LET your light shine ... don't hide it, don't cover it up. If God has given you gifts ... use them. If not, you're putting a basket over the light of God.

Long before the Jesus was born, before John called him the light of the world, before Jesus told us to let our light shine, light already was a common metaphor for the presence of God in the world. Isaiah chapter 60: "Arise, shine; for your light has come ... For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the people; but the LORD will arise upon you." What a powerful image: "thick darkness." If you watch the evening news, it often seems like thick darkness has covered the earth: War, poverty, despair. Just open your eyes and you see darkness all around you ... a family fighting and breaking up; drug problems in schools and homes throughout the city; lives in crisis from health problems. Thick darkness. But Isaiah gives us a mission: "arise, shine ... the LORD will arise upon you ... Nations shall come to your light." Shine your light in the thick darkness.Repeat after me: "Our mission is to shine our light ... by welcoming all people ... building community ... serving God and neighbor." Altogether now: "____" Our mission is to shine our light all around us, in our homes, in our schools, at our workplaces, in our neighborhoods. Ask yourself all day long: "is what I'm doing now letting my light shine?" If you're a child, we want you to be doing something nice for your mom and say to yourself ... "I'm letting my light shine." Clean up your little sister's mess and say to yourself: "I'm letting my light shine." Adults: same with you. Make the ethical call in a business decision and say: "I'm letting my light shine." Make a meal for someone who just got out of the hospital and say: "I'm letting my light shine." Speak up for someone who is being wronged. Sends cards to encourage people. Don't feed the darkness. Don't hide your goodness under a basket. Ask yourself where there is darkness, and then let your light shine. Two lessons: an Evangelism lesson and a Grammar lesson. Some churches are known as "evangelistic" churches and they usually say something like their mission is "to win people to Christ." That's how they read the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." But how do you do that? Browbeat? Arm-twist? Manipulate? A thousand years ago that's exactly what the church did. And some parts of the church are still doing that today. But the Isaiah passage points another way ... shine your light in the darkness, and the nations will come to you. A single mom is struggling to raise her two boys, and she finds help through a cub scout pack. Neighbors hear we are repairing houses and they come join the re-hab project. Stressed out stay-at-home mothers get a break by a parent's day out. Newcomers to town find a family and community, friends for their children, surrogate grandparents who pass on wisdom and stability. A gay couple finds a community where they can be honest and loved. As we gear our ministries to shine God's light in the darkness that surrounds us, the light will attract. It seems a much more faithful approach to evangelism than manipulative guilt-trips. "Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together." Our job is to shine as brightly as we can.Now for the GRAMMAR lesson. If you ever had a course in writing, you were probably instructed to use active voice rather than passive voice. Passive voice says weakly: "It was cold outside." Active voice is stronger and bolder: "Mother nature blew a cold wind and froze the earth." That's the kind of thing English teachers love. And so you'll notice, our mission statement uses active voice ... "Our mission is to shine our light." The active voice encourages us to get up and do, to go into world and community, to go forth and shine, not just to rest content to have happy fellowship inside the walls of ECC. But it's worth noting: Jesus used the passive voice: "Let your light shine." Who knows, for that matter, maybe he really used the active voice and somehow it turned passive as it was translated from Aramaic to Greek to English. Or maybe Jesus was sick that day of grammar class. But I suspect Jesus used the passive voice for a reason. It's not like we have to do anything superhuman to shine our light. Just let it come out. God put the light in us, put the fire in us. We just have to get out of the way, stop covering it up. That's why Jesus used the bushel basket image ... you've been given the light, don't put it under a bushel basket, just let it shine. Everyday, at all times, just let the light out. Smile, be positive, be generous -- and you will literally radiate the joy of God. Just let God's light shine through you.Shining light is sometimes a risky thing. If you've ever been the first one awake in a bunkhouse, you know what I mean. You want to turn on the light so you can see ... but you know everyone will hate you. People like the darkness. It's comfortable. Churches by nature are hesitant to be too radical, too out there. Nobody wants to offend anyone. Nobody wants people to get mad and leave the church. Many groups are like that. Turning on the lights takes guts. You change things. Shining your light can be risky. But when Jesus says "let your light shine," he doesn't mean a weak, timid little light that no one notices - like a flashlight with dead batteries.The light we are letting shine is the light of Christ. Don't throw a blanket over it. Charge up your batteries, and let your light shine. - Amen.