Sermons

“It’s Your Call – Part 2”

Text – Matthew 5:13-16

Janice Good, Preacher

I hold in my hand a modern day wonder, refined and improved, reshaped out of ever changing materials, until it has attained the wonderful form it exists in today. By now you are probably thinking that I have lost my mind… for I simply hold a candle in my hand. We really have no idea how or who produced this simple invention. But for anyone who’s ever grilled a chunk of meat and seen dripping grease flair up when it hits hot coals, it doesn’t take a much imagination to figure out how ancient humans came up with the idea for the first artificial light. We do know that candles shaped very much like tapers of today were found in Egypt around 3,000 BC. However, the ancient Romans are generally credited with developing the wicked candle by dipping rolled papyrus repeatedly in melted animal fat or beeswax. The resulting candles were used to light their homes, to aid travelers at night, and in religious ceremonies.

So candles like this or similar to it have been a very important means of lighting for at least five thousand years. Candles have been used to light homes after the sun goes down, to provide the means of artificial light for decades of children by which they read and did homework. Candles have been used from the beginnings of the earliest recorded history. Constantly being improved upon, not only in materials that formed the candle but also in the material that created the wick, and how that wick was constructed. Right up to the early 1900s candles were the single source of artificial light for homes, even being fashioned into multi-light chandeliers.

But we are modern people. We live in the 21^st century. We don’t need these old-fashioned and inconvenient things in our lives. Candles are messy and they can be dangerous. They eventually burn out and then we have to get another one. We live in the modern world. Beginning with Benjamin Franklin's experiment with a kite one stormy night in Philadelphia, this modern world has become an electrified world. For over 100 years ago now we have enjoyed the wonder of electricity. Before that, we had to live in houses lit with kerosene lamps, food cooled in iceboxes, and rooms warmed by wood-burning or coal-burning stoves.

But all that changed, especially with the invention of the light bulb, profoundly changing our human existence by illuminating the night and making it hospitable to a wide range of human activity. Most of you here today are much too young to remember the excitement of that wonderful invention of 1879, credited to Thomas Alva Edison. The light bulb is one of the everyday conveniences that most affect our lives. The invention of the incandescent light bulb has a history spanning from the early 1800s. Until that time, available light sources consisted of candles, oil lanterns, and gas lamps. The quest for artificial light dates back to when man first learned to control fire. Even the Greeks experimented with static electricity. Many experimenters and scientists were devoting resources to the capture of light long before 1879. By the 1870’s there was an informal inventors’ race for a practical use of incandescent technology. Edison, who only began his experiments in lighting in 1877, saw the value of developing a complete incandescent lighting system. Without boring you with scientific details, let me just say that Edison, and others, experimented on a variety of styles and filaments before they found success, demonstrated when on October 19, 1879 Edison turned on the power and his lamp began to glow. It continued glowing for 40 hours. Earlier experiments had only produced a light that glowed for a few minutes. The world learned of this success on December 21, 1879 when it was proclaimed on the front page of the New York Herald.

So here we are nearly 130 years later, with fully refined and fine-tuned light bulbs, both incandescent and fluorescent bulbs light our homes, our offices, our highways and our churches. We make use of a multitude of electrical devices. And, we are no longer held captives by the arrival of the night. We can be bathed in lighting as soft or harsh as we desire wherever we may be, at any time of day or night. So with all this modern technology, we no longer need any of those old-fashioned candles, those symbols of a simpler time, of a less advanced time in our history. Other than for decorations, we have no practical use for candles… that is unless remnants of a hurricane blow through your community… and you, along with thousands of others are without electricity for days. I would hope that our spiritual light is not like that – forgotten, kept hidden away on a shelf or in a drawer until a crisis arises.

In our scripture reading from Matthew’s gospel today, Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, has just completed sharing the Beatitudes, and then makes His unusual statements about salt and light and how disciples of Jesus are to be that salt and light to the world. He wants His followers to know who they are to be, not just as His followers, but out in the big wide world. When Jesus departs His time on earth, these first century followers will not be living in isolation, they will be called to go out into the world to spread the message and teachings of Jesus.

So, we Christians are to be the salt of the earth. What exactly does that mean? When we want to stress a person’s worth we often say that he or she is the salt of the earth. In the ancient world, salt was highly valued. In the climate of Palestine, salt was invaluable for preserving food. A bag of salt was considered as precious as a person’s life. You see, salt performs two important functions. First, it is the commonest of all preservatives. It keeps things from going bad. For millions of people in the world, salt still has this purpose. Secondly, salt gives taste and flavor to our food.

To be the salt of our world means that we are preserving, reconciling, adding taste and flavor and giving meaning to those that see no meaning, giving hope to those who see no hope. Even when the early Christians were being persecuted, the Christians leaders pleaded for tolerance on the grounds that society continued to exist because of the way Christians upheld the good values in life, the way they worked for reconciliation and peace and the way they prayed for those in control. To be salt to the world means that we are concerned. We care about cultural values and moral principles and work at having an impact on society. In other words, we add taste and flavor to life. When there are Christians in a community, its people should be able to thank God for the peace and fellowship that Christians bring to their world.

Jesus also said that His followers were the light of the world. In Jesus’ time God had become nearly obscured by the pagan cults and by those who made their religious actions into meaningless ritual. If there were no light to shine upon this darkness, the world would perish. So Jesus was sent to be that light, that people could see God through Him.

We too are also called to be the light of the world in this day and age. We are to reveal God through this light that shines in us from Jesus. That means we are to brighten, to illuminate all aspects of the world. It also means we are to be light for all the people of the world. This light is to take us out of our preoccupation with the welfare of the Christian community alone. We do not live isolated from the rest of the world. We need to be reaching out, shining our light to all the dark corners of our community, our country, our world.

Jesus Christ is the true light of the world. He has lightened the lives of each one of His followers. We, as Christian disciples, as Jesus’ followers are called to rise and shine this light. Just as salt can lose its saltiness if neglected, so too can our light be lost in the darkness if we do not actively attend to its flame. Christians are to be torchbearers in a dark world. No one should try to hide the light, that flame which God shines in our lives, especially by keeping silent about their faith, hiding their light under a basked, or in the back of their minds, like an unused candle. Instead, we should shine so that others may see our good deeds and praise God. Shining does not mean promoting ourselves, boasting about our abilities. But shining, being light to the world means bearing fruit in our lives, bringing life and light to others.

Jesus wanted His followers then, and us today to know who we are, especially in terms of who we ought to be in relationship with God, with our family, our friends, and with everyone in our world. Jesus was often criticized for the relationships he had, especially with those considered outcasts of society. But it is just those kinds of relationships that Jesus calls us to build.

Speaking of relationships, for those of us called to shine our light as pastors, church and religious groups are a big part of our lives. I remember hearing about a pastor who told a story of inviting the members of session and their spouses over to dinner. This was quite an event, but this pastor and spouse wanted to be the salt and light for the leaders of the church. When it came time for dinner, everyone was seated and the pastor’s spouse asked their young child to say grace. The child fussed about not knowing what to say. The pastor’s spouse reassured the child and said, “Just say what I say honey.” Everyone bowed their heads and the sweet innocent little child spoke these words of blessing: “O dear Lord, why am I having these people here for dinner?”

The Bible gives us a picture of God and what His purposes are for His creation. In our scripture today we are told our purpose is to be salt and light to the world, even if it means inviting church officers to dinner. In the Beatitudes we are shown a God who comforts those who mourn, a God who satisfies the needs of the poor and the hungry. To be a light to the world is to follow this God, struggling to bring about social justice in our society, to safeguard human rights and to work for peace and reconciliation. To be a light also means heeding the words of the prophet Isaiah (words that John read earlier): “Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.” (Isaiah 58:10 NLT)

So, you may ask, how do I do that? Well, there are a number of ways that you can shine your light. You can reach out to your neighbor who is struggling to feed her family, to your co-worker who can’t seem to find the funds to pay for fuel to keep his family warm this winter. You can actively participate in any of the local ministries to the community, such as Grace Food Pantry, or donate blood to replenish the supplies of the Blood Bank. Find a way to light your flame, to get your candle glowing. One way to respond to this call to be light of the world that we have been emphasizing here at Tower Church is our upcoming Mission/Ministry Fair, to be held next Sunday, in Williamson Hall. Virtually everything that a church does falls under the category of mission or ministry. Plan to take some time next Sunday to visit the displays, to ask questions not only of what the particular ministry or mission does, what its purpose is, but listen intently for God’s call to you to engage in one or more of these means of outreach to our world. Discover how you can be that candle in the dark, lighting areas that have become darkened by the storms of life, by the loss of electricity in the hearts of people.

Let me share with you a tale about a little candle. This candle stood in a room filled with other candles, most of them much larger and much more beautiful than she was. Some were ornate and some were rather simple, like her. Some were red, some were blue, some were tall and skinny, others were short and wide. She had no idea why she was there, but she felt rather small and insignificant compared to the others.

When the sun went down and the room began to get dark, she noticed a large human walking toward her with a ball of fire on a stick. She suddenly realized that the human was going to set her on fire. "No, no!!" she cried, “Don't burn me, please!” But she knew that she could not be heard and prepared for the pain that would surely follow. To her surprise, the room filled with light. She wondered where it came from since the human had by now extinguished the fire stick. To her delight, she realized that the light came from herself.

During the next few hours, she noticed that, slowly, her wax began to flow. She became aware that she would soon die. With this realization came a sense of why she had been created. “Perhaps my purpose on earth is to give out light until I die,” she thought. And that's exactly what she did. (http://www.skywriting.net/inspirational/stories/little_candle.html)

God created you and I to produce light in a dark world. Like that little candle, we can all produce a great amount of light, no matter how small we are or what size or shape or tint we might be. In life our purpose is to give out light until we are finally extinguished. But we can only produce light when we receive it from an another source. That source is Jesus Christ, the Light of the world.

Last week, John talked with us about having a job for us to do. As we listened we learned about the calling that God has for each one of us. Perhaps you prayed about that, perhaps you are now open to accepting God’s call. Now you are hired so to speak. Well, this week I am hoping that you get fired… fired up, light with the flame of the Light of the World. Fired up so that you can burn brightly for the entire world to see so that they can praise God, so that they can see your light placed high on a hilltop, making light for all the world to see.

Before we go to the Lord in prayer as a congregation, I would like each of you to just take a moment, close your eyes and ask God, “Am I being Your light to the world? God, am I salt and light for Your people? Please show me how.” Just ask God and listen for His answer.* (brief silence)

If you sense God fanning the flame of your candle, if you are hearing that you are His light, then thank God, and remember you are the seasoning and illumination to a dark and hurting world, lighting the way home. Take your candle from under the bushel, and go out and light up the world for all to see the glories of God, so all can praise the Father for sending the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, remembering that a candle loses nothing by sharing its flame!

Light anyone?

Sources of information on candle making and light bulbs acquired from the following web sites: