Be the Light

I think many of us are familiar with the words of Jesus found in John 8:12, where he proclaims, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.” Even if we can’t cite chapter and verse, the words are recognizable to us. However, in John 9:5, Jesus says that “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” I suspect that this statement is often glanced past, embedded as it is in a miracle story of Jesus healing a blind beggar. However, it begs the question (pun unintended), what happens to the light when Jesus is not in the world?

Jesus’ words in this week’s gospel reading from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount, offer us a clue. In verse 14, he very plainly states that “YOU [that is, we], are the light of the world.” This verse is the basis for this past summer’s Appalachia Service Project theme, “Be the Light!” So now what does that mean? How are you and I supposed to “Be the Light?”

We live in a world that has a lot of darkness. We often look to God for the light that we so desperately need. We lament when we read of another atrocity or deep injustice in our newsfeed. We cry out when something happens that shows just how dark humanity can be. We pray in our worship for God to bring light to those who need it. Isn’t it God who is supposed to set things right in a blaze of glory, a light so blinding and pure that it will chase all of the dark things away? Why isn’t God doing this?

Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 appear to put things in a different, um, light. God HAS brought light to the world, and it is us! WE are the ones who are called to “Be the Light,” to feed those who are hungry, clothe those who are naked, and help those who are sick. To fix homes for those who don’t have a solid, safe floor in their bathroom, or shiver in the cold of winter because their walls aren’t insulated, or can’t use some rooms in their home because the roof leaks too badly.

In our worship service this Sunday, some of our ASP participants will share their experiences from their work week this past summer. They will talk about ways that they were light to others, but they may also share ways that others were light to them. One of the most impactful ASP stories I ever heard occurred over twenty years ago, when one of our teams was working on the home of an older woman who lived alone. Her house had two good walls and two that were rotting away, no hot water, and a roof that leaked badly in many places. While some of the crew were up in the attic working on her roof, they came across a number of plastic trash bags with clothes in them. When they asked the homeowner whose they were, she replied that she collected them to give to the “poor people.” She knew how to "be the light” to others, even in the midst of what some might see as her own dark situation. That’s what we’re called to do; instead of obsessing over the darkness and waiting for God (or someone else) to deal with it, we need to shine the light that Christ has given us into that darkness, in whatever way we are called to.

You are the light of the world. Be the light.

In Christ,

Craig Miller