The Light of the World
Our gospel reading this morning is Mark’s telling of the transfiguration of Jesus. It is a fascinating story, and quite unusual in the ministry of Jesus as Moses and Elijah are brought back to life in a scene witnessed by three of disciples. The heart of the story is Jesus’ clothing glowing more brightly than anything the disciples had either seen or could have imagined in a way that is reminiscent of the time that Moses’ face glowed brightly after he met God to receive the commandments. In both these events the idea of God and light are presented together although the real message of the transfiguration was to establish for the disciples, and us, the fact that Jesus was God.
It is that idea of light and God and us that I want to concentrate on today. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians which we heard earlier his message is heavily focussed on the light of the world. Let me remind you of three of the verses from that reading, ‘The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ’.
Light is a gift from God. In the third verse of the Bible we have God’s first recorded action when he spoke, saying, ‘Let there be light’ and the universe of darkness changed forever. Light is so important in our lives and our language and behaviour reflect that importance. If any of you have ever been on a tour of deep caves you may have encountered the point in the tour when you are all standing looking at a vast cave and they turn out the lights. Even though they have warned you it will happen, any feeling you already had of claustrophobia is instantly accentuated and after only a few seconds many people become frightened.
The idea of light and darkness are caught up in our Christian view of the world and we use it in so many symbolic ways. We have a quite normal fear of the dark because we have no sense of what is happening around us. Not surprisingly, criminals use darkness to cover up their nefarious activities. So the Devil is often presented as the Lord of the Darkness and we associate good with light and evil with the absence of light.
Keeping somewhere clean is much harder where the place is dark or gloomy because you cannot see the dirt and grime and dust. The absence of the light of God makes it just as difficult to keep ourselves clean and free from sin. Of course, we know that on judgement day, a light will be shined on our sins and they will become visible if we have not maintained our right relationship with him; if we have not lived in his light.
I am a director of a public body which is being closed down by the Government. Over a period of two years we must run down the work we do and either make people redundant or help them find employment elsewhere in the public sector; and cease our own jobs. It is not an enjoyable task and we often talk about which person will be the last to leave. We use the phrase, who will be the one who turns the lights off and closes the door. When that happens, the organisation will be dead but note that symbolic use of turning off the lights to symbolise that ending. When our spiritual life is turned off by a failing relationship with God, then we become spiritually dead and our potential for eternal life is dimmed.
Forgive me if you have heard this humorous illustration before, but I do love it so much that I cannot resist it.
While out on manoeuvres, a battleship’s captain received a call from the lookout to say that he could see what appeared to be the light of another vessel in the dark, foggy night. After checking the light’s coordinates, the captain realised that his ship was on a collision course with the other vessel. The captain called out to his radio operator, ‘Signal that ship as follows. We are on a collision course, I advise you to change course by 20 degrees to the east’. The return signal came quickly and countered, ‘It would be advisable for you to change course by 20 degrees to the west.’ The irritated captain signalled, ‘I am a captain, please change course by 20 degrees immediately.’
Almost as soon as the signal was sent the response came back, ‘So what, I am a seaman second class, you had better change course by 20 degrees quickly or a collision will be inevitable.’ By this time the captain was furious. His signal ordered curtly, ‘I am a battleship. Change course by 20 degrees, now!’ The final exchange of signals came through to the captain, ‘I am a lighthouse. You make the call.’
This illustration, just like the many examples of light and dark I gave earlier point us to the rock steady and everlasting source of light that is Jesus. Light made by mankind is dependent on a source of fuel, whether electricity, oil gas or fire and at some point that fuel will run out, or there will be a power cut, and darkness will prevail. It is not the same with God, whose power and light are everlasting. We must allow the light of Christ to be steadfast in our lives and we should turn constantly towards the light of Christ. From it we will gain security, comfort, healing and above all understanding.
Jesus then is the light of the world and this is made abundantly clear by the writings of Paul; but Jesus also told us himself that he was the light of the world. In John chapter nine we can read of the way in which he healed a man who had been blind from birth. He said, ‘As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam.’ So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. This gives such hope to the world. Even if you are blind to God; spiritually dark, the light of Christ is strong enough to change your life.
I could end this address right there if it were not for the words of Jesus after he had given the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew chapter five you can read that he says the same about us as he said about himself. Speaking to the crowd and to his disciples, he said, ‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven’.
So, we are the light of the world too; and we are commanded to let that light shine. Rick Warren is an evangelical Baptist minister in California. He is the pastor of what is known as a ‘megachurch’ with a weekly congregation of 20,000, though that is not the reason I mention him. He said something quite profound which for me is a vital guiding principle for anyone who wants to understand what Jesus meant when he said, ‘let your light shine before others’. He said, ‘There are two basic reasons why people do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour’. The first is that they have never met a Christian; and the second is that they have met a Christian.
Jesus knew that however good the ‘good news’ was; however brilliant the preacher or the teacher; however many people who were told the good news; Christianity would be judged by the actions of its followers.
It is not only our job to shine as lights for the rest of the world but the rest of the world expects us to shine. In the same way that we are likely to ignore the risks of lung cancer when warned by a doctor who smokes, the world is likely to ignore God’s message of love when the people who deliver it hurt others by gossiping about them while claiming that we should not judge others or fail to forgive a small offence while talking of the forgiveness of God for any sin or are dishonest when ordering others not to steal or fail to live up to the parable of the Good Samaritan the week after they have broadcast it as the ideal.
I am constantly saddened, but not surprised, by people’s ability to reject the word of God entirely on the basis of the hypocrisy or poor behaviour of Christians they encounter. When we are walking in darkness we cannot reflect the light of Christ and so we do little to build up God’s Kingdom.
In the same way, I am constantly amazed at the power of someone who is a reflection of Christ in the way they care for and love others to change hearts and minds. Jesus stood out from the crowd because he put no barriers up between himself and those he wanted to help. He helped because someone needed help; he helped because he loved everyone equally; and it is that kind of shining example that we must follow.
When he told the crowd to, ‘Let your light shine before others’, he added those vital words, ‘That they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven’. I watched a film called The Blind Side again last night. It is a super film which I have seen many times before; a true story of a wealthy white Christian couple, Leanne and Sean Tuohy, with a young son and a teenage daughter who took into their home a teenage black boy who they found one evening wandering the street looking for somewhere to sleep. They fought the enormous prejudice of their Christian friends and eventually became legal guardians of the boy, Michael Oher. Michael went on to graduate from college and became a successful professional American footballer with the Baltimore Ravens in 2009.
The film’s title, The Blind Side, says it all for me. The Tuohy family were blind to Michael’s colour and his background. They let their light shine before others and the glory of God was evident for all to see.
On 4 February 1993, officials at the Flight Control Centre near Moscow reported the successful deployment of a space reflector. The Znamya 2 was a twenty metre wide space solar mirror. After visiting the EO 12 crew aboard the Mir space station the spacecraft carrying the mirror undocked and deployed the reflector next to the Russian Mir space station. The mirror deployed successfully, with this 75 feet wide disc they managed to use the reflected light of the sun to produce a two mile wide bright spot on the dark side of the earth which traversed Europe from southern France to western Russia at a speed of five miles a second. The bright spot was equivalent to the light of a full moon.
Wherever Christians have lost their shine, it may be due to their feeble attempts to produce light themselves rather than reflect the Light of God. How much greater would be our impact if we started being better mirrors of the Son; S. O. N.
