LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS Matthew 5: 13-20

Every Saturday morning, I take part in a Bible study. Last Saturday, our scripture was Mat.5:13-20. “You are the light of the world”, Jesus said. He continued by saying: “A city 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 men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.” One of the questions upon which we pondered was this:  If we lose the light, what will happen?  I invite you to meditate with me on this question.

In John 1:4 we read: “In Him was life, and that life was the Light of men. So, what will happen if we lose our light?

In verse 5 of Matthew 5, Jesus is quoted as saying “People do not light a lamp and put it under a bowl.”  That should be obvious someone may say; why would someone light a lamp and put it under a bowl? What purpose will it serve under the bowl? However, often enough that is what many of us do, if not in actuality (God forbids) but in the way we live our lives.

As we discussed this question, my mind kept going back to the former president Ronald Reagan and one of his popular sayings depicting the United States of America as the “shining city on the hill”. Unfortunately, nobody with an iota of common sense, would say that today’s USA comes even close to Reagan’s “shining city on the hill”, whether we look at it from the national or the international point of view. She is no longer the place people looked to in today’s messy world when facing the many challenges in their daily lives. No, we cannot hide a city that is sitting on top of a hill. Its lights at night can be seen for miles. So it is with us if we live for Christ; we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like. In Micah 6:8, the question is asked “What does the Lord require of you?” “To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God” is the answer.

However, in many respects we do hide our light every day. We hide our light when we say nothing and do nothing against blatant injustice that we witness every day; we hide our light when we go along with the crowd; we hide our light when we deny the Light by our words and our deeds, we hide our light when we fail to explain to, and share the Light with, others; we hide our light when we ignore the plight of others. We are called to be beacons of truth and our light cannot be, should not be hidden. We are called to be light agents empowered to shine in the darkness of our world.

What happens when we hide the Light? Darkness takes over. Donald Trump and his minions take over, Vladimir Poutin takes over, Benjamin Netanyahu takes over, ICE takes over, and even worse, people who should know better begin to normalize the hate that grows in the darkness, begin to rationalize the brutality, to justify the racism and the dehumanization, even the murder, inherent in the darkness.

Everywhere we look, the world is a mess. Not a day goes by without learning about a crisis somewhere, even right here in the USA, the agents of darkness are fully active.
But in John 1:5 we read: “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” To overcome the darkness in the world, all of us must hold fast to Christ’s Light. Love like He loved, give like He gave, care like He cared, forgive like He forgave.

Let us pray.  Gracious and Holy God, we praise and glorify your name. We thank you for all your blessings and all your favors, past present and yet to come. Forgive us Lord when we fall short of your expectations. Help us dear Lord to always seek your Light, cling to your Light, and radiate your Light in all circumstances in our lives and the lives of our fellow travelers on this terrestrial journey. In the mighty name of Jesus, the Christ, we pray.  Amen and Amen.

Written by Rev. Franck Aguilh