As a child I was fascinated one day by’ the fact that when you open the refrigerator, there is always a light burning. I was fascinated by it because I wanted to know whether that light was on when the door was closed as well as when it was open. And so I began to experiment. First I tried to stick my head in and then close the door; well, all I got for my troubles was a mashed ear and the smell of leftover fish. Then I tried to peek in the edge of the door while I closed it, real slow. But I still could not see the light go out; it stayed on until I could not see inside at all, although I did learn that squinting at the edge of a refrigerator door will fog up your glasses pretty quickly. Finally I had a really good idea about how to research this monumental question, this thing I just had to know, whether the light stays on when you close the refrigerator door. I put my hand on the door handle; I planted my feet – get ready, get set, open the door as fast as you can! See, I though maybe I could sort of surprise the bulb and I could get the door open before it had time to go on. Open, close, open, close, but it seemed as though the light was always on. Never did see the refrigerator bulb dark.
Now I did find out that the inside of my room was dark, however, when my mother discovered her melting ice cream and a full set of fingerprints on the freezer door. But I just concluded that for some unknown reason a light burned in that refrigerator all the time, illuminating the milk and butter and eggs for no reason at all. Odd that anybody would put a light in there and then hide it. Why have a light if no one sees it?
And Jesus pointed out the same reality. Why have a light if no one sees it? "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house". Why have a light if it is to be hidden away? Why have a light if it is to be covered over with a bushel basket or a refrigerator door? Why have a light if it is not going to give light to all who are in the house?
This morning my fear is that many of us are unseen lamps, we are hidden lights. Many of us are lights under bushel baskets of our own making, and the world is straining to see whether we are still lighted. But we have successfully kept our secrets, we have kept ourselves and what we represent behind closed doors, and no one is quite sure yet whether we are on or off, whether we are burning lamps or whether we are cold dead burnt out cases. And it is that whatever else we have done, whatever else we may have accomplished, this we have not done: we do not speak up. We do not speak up and interpret to the world who we are and what is happening to us. We do not speak up for ourselves and tell the world what it needs and wants to know.
So can we explore together this thesis today: that living the Gospel includes speaking up for the Gospel; that living the Gospel, as our banner tells us, means a joyous witness, a witness, speaking the Gospel. Let’s explore this truth: that if you and I are to live as lights in a darkened world, that means we are going to have to interpret our faith to that world, we are going to have to tell others about Christ.
I
Now I know you will think that I am a broken record, harping away at one theme over and over, but, you know, as I reflect on this thesis, I discover once again that the issue is self-esteem. Just as during black history month we reflected on poor self-esteem and how it feeds racism; just as during Advent we wondered at a God who would invest Himself in becoming one of us, us, poor nothings that we thought we were; just as on several occasions we have learned that our sin is at heart low self-esteem and valuing ourselves too little, just so I would say to you that one of the reasons we do not speak up and become lights for the world is that we have not quite believed that we are somebodies in Christ.
Just a couple of days ago, two or three of us were talking about timidity, about how there are so many times when we just have a hard time getting out of the shell and approaching somebody, no matter what the purpose is, whether it is to sell them something or just to meet them, or, of course, to tell them about Christ. And in the course of that conversation I made a confession; I told the group I was with that I find it terribly easy to find reasons, excuses really, not to share the Gospel. I will put off forever and a day making an appointment with someone I need to see; I will start to dial their number and then will hang up before the phone rings, pretending that it’s probably not a good time to call. I will make lists of the people I ought to see and work on the list until it’s late in the evening, and well, I guess I shouldn’t phone anybody at this hour. And do you see what I am really doing? I am really saying, "I’m inadequate. I feel unprepared. I don’t know if they will accept me. I’m not up to par." Self-esteem is the issue; how we think of ourselves affects the way we witness. If we do not value ourselves, we will not speak up.
Now Jesus addresses that for us in this text. He says very simply, very directly, "You are the light of the world". "You are the light of the world". Not you are one flickering little candle, but you are the light of the world. Not you are a burnt out matchstick, but you are the light of the world. And when I hear that, I have to know that I am worth something. When I hear that, I know that I can do it. I can speak up and be heard. I, you, we are the light of the world. Speak up!
One of the first baptisms I did a number of years ago involved a small Filipino boy. He was about eight years old and was, at least by American standards, very small and lightweight for his age. And so when it came time to immerse him, I leaned him back and he popped right up, whoop! He was so light and buoyant I could hardly get him under the water, and, in fact his face never did get immersed. Just lifted right up there. And when I stood him back on his feet, or rather, I just sort of floated him off in the direction of the stairs, he pointed to his face, as if to say, didn’t you forget something? And his father, after the service, wondered if the baptism was valid because, as he said, you didn’t baptize all of him!
Well, I am afraid a good many of us have acted as if our faces, our mouths and our tongues had not been baptized. We will do everything else but speak up; we will go to church and we will give to missions and we will offer our prayers, but our unbaptized tongues will not speak up. And it is, again, that we are still not feeling adequate, we still have not heard: you are the light of the world.
Like the Frankish army, forced to be baptized by the King of France in the middle ages, but keeping their sword arms out of the water so that even as Christians they could keep on slaughtering, we have said, Take me, Lord, but not all. I am not ready to speak up. I am not ready to tell others.
Or like Moses, called of God to speak to Pharaoh and the courts of the enemy, we say, But Lord, I am not a good speaker. My tang gets all tungled up. I can’t speak up. But he says, you are the light of the world. And I have given you an Aaron whose name is Holy Spirit, who will teach you what to say.
Or like Peter, when push comes to shove and we have to speak up, we deny that we know him and out of our fear, out of our lack of courage, we deny not only Christ, but we deny ourselves, we devalue ourselves, for you see, we are the light of the world. Speak up!
II
On the other hand, sometimes it is not must that we do not value ourselves; sometimes we do not speak up because we really do not see the point in anybody else receiving the light. Sometimes we hide the light we have because we are not convinced others need it or want it or should have it at all. And so we do not speak up.
You see, the world is awfully deceptive sometimes. People tell us that they do not want the light of the Gospel, but they do, they really do. A friend of mine who is in the campus ministry was telling me about sitting in a college cafeteria, trying to talk with one of his colleagues, another campus minister, and there was a student sort of hovering nearby. As the two chaplains talked of spiritual things, churchly things, he noticed the student sneering, tossing her head, scowling; she seemed to be saying, in effect, "What a crock of baloney, these guys are nonsense." But then as the conversation turned the corner and the two chaplains talked about how they were learning to counsel people into career changes, how they were using Christian disciplines to help people judge what they should do with their lives, he saw the student edging a little closer. And finally she jumped up and fairly shouted at my friend, "Hey, you’re helping me, you’re really helping me. I can’t believe it, you actually are helping me!" Sometimes, you see, they seem to say they don’t want the light, but they do, and when they see it, they know what it is.
And that says to us, don’t be fooled; speak up. Don’t hide that light under the bushel basket. Speak up. Share your faith. Share what it means and what it can do. Let your light so shine that they may see your good works and glorify your Father.
Now Jesus at this point reminds us that we do have to earn the right to speak. We have to be credible, we have to scratch people where they itch. We have to earn the right to speak, but our trouble is that we may earn the right and still not speak up.
In the summertime if you go to the Mall downtown, you may see a cart and a tent and a puppet stage and some young people gathered day after day at one spot out there. These folks will be the ministry on the mall missions team. What they do is really very simple: they have plenty of cold water available for free to the thirsty throngs that gather on those beastly August days. They pass out cups of cold water, they share information, they look for people who appear to be a bit lonely or confused or tired, and they just do for them whatever they can. And as often as not somebody will say, "Who are you folks and why are you doing this?" And so they have earned the right to speak. And speak they do, to say we are here in the name of Christ, we represent the light and the refreshment that you need, we give you water to drink but we know of one who is living water and to drink him is never to thirst again. Do you see? They earned the right to speak and then they spoke up. But my problem, our problem is that we just go on living out our lives comfortably, normally, routinely, but never follow through.
But hear it again. What does the Lord say? "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven."
Yes, the world wants light; they just do not always know how to ask for it. The world will let us speak up if we earn the right to speak first, but then we are compelled to speak what we do know. It’s just that the world never asks us forthrightly, directly to speak up, and you have to know how to read the signals.
Several weeks ago after the early service our Associate Pastor, who had preached, went to his desk and found an anonymous note, which read, "Speak up so we can hear you!" And he did the next time around. But that’s the way of the world … anonymously, indirectly asking us to speak up. They do want to hear, they just don’t know how to ask for it. So let your light shine before men, that they may see and may give glory to your father who is in heaven.
Speak up to those new neighbors with three little children who spend their Sunday mornings in front of the cartoons rather than in Sunday School. They can hear you if you do not hide.
Speak up to those co-workers whose chit-chat tells you that they are searching for some spiritual solutions to all the garbage in their lives. Speak up and point them to the light of the world who tells you that you are also light of the world.
Speak up even to that strange looking young man who hangs around the street corner and seems frequently to exchange little packets of something with drivers who stop at his corner. You may have to do something radical to earn the right to speak, but speak you must, of the cross and of a savior.
You see, if you do not speak up the light which you have will not go very far. If you keep it inside it will help no one. If you put a basket over the light it will illumine no one. I even found out, one day, that what I suspected all along was true: that when the refrigerator door stays tightly closed, the light is out, completely out.
So speak up!
