2023, Dr. Tamilio
I came across the following story recently.[1]
There is a mere strip of sand called Castle Island near the eastern end of the Bahamas archipelago. Few people are aware of it — and, as tiny and isolated as it is, Castle Island is important for the lighthouse that is its sole source of humanity.
One day, a young man was sailing in the area. He anchored his sailboat off of the lighthouse and swam to shore to exercise his legs on the beach. The lighthouse keeper, Cedric Hanna, was surprised and delighted to have company; he invited the young man to join him for some fresh-caught lobster and a tour of the lighthouse.
The young man climbed the winding staircase to the lantern room at the top of the stairs; and, he was astonished at the size of the light that signaled safe passage through the maze of shoals and reefs! The light was a tiny kerosene flame — barely bright enough to read by — yet, with the aid of mirrors and reflectors, it was visible twenty-five miles out to sea.
Keep that story in mind as we reflect on today’s Gospel Lesson. We are continuing with Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” as it appears in Matthew’s Gospel. There are three points raised in this passage. Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. He then tells us that he did not come to abolish Jewish Law, but to fulfill it. There are weeks and weeks of sermon possibilities here, but I want to stick with the light of the world reference.
The full quote is: “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” These three verses align with something I have been talking about for a few years now: evangelism — spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and how our congregation preaches and lives this Good News.
Each of us is like the small, kerosene lamp in the lighthouse. We have light to share, but each of us only has one light. It is limited. The mirrors and reflectors enable that light to be greater, to have more power than it actually has. There are two types of mirrors/reflectors that enable our individual light to shine. I want to unpack each of them separately.
The First One is the church — this church. None of us are lone rangers. None of us can do everything alone. If that were the case, we’d each be our own church. We are gathered in the church, the Body of Christ because each one of us has a different gift. All those gifts combined make the body function as efficiently and effectively as it can. Paul talks about this at length in his Epistles, particularly 1 Corinthians 12. By working together, we get more done. Many hands make for light work, remember? Our individual efforts are magnified by the work that other members of the church do, and our work helps to magnify their work.
The Second One is Jesus. Jesus is at work in us whenever we seek to make the kingdom of God — which is “at hand,” if you remember last week’s sermon — whenever we seek to make God’s kingdom a reality in this world. Yes, when we feed the hungry and clothe the naked and visit the sick and imprisoned, as Jesus instructed us to do, he is with us, but he is particularly there when we share the Good News and seek the salvation of others. No, we cannot save anybody, but Jesus can. Our job is to share the Gospel of Christ’s reconciling love with them, to bring them into the fold (this fold) to hear and live the Word. Jesus will take it from there.
Each one of us can only do so much ministering in Christ’s name. When we join with one another, our efforts magnify exponentially.
Ed Vasicek writes the following: “My wife makes an amazing pot roast dinner. She takes raw meat, along with raw sliced white and sweet potatoes, celery, mushrooms, carrots, and onions, and throws them into the slow cooker. Six or seven hours later the aroma fills the house, and the first taste is a delight. It is always to my advantage to wait until the ingredients in the slow cooker work together to achieve something they could not achieve individually.”[2]
Footnote: there is nothing better than the smell of pot roast filling the house. Although, the smell of my wife’s Italian cooking (with lots of garlic) ranks right up there.
But getting back to what Vasicek was saying: that pot roast, and the amazing aroma it fills the house with, is not made up of any single element. It’s not the meat, the potatoes, the mushrooms, or the onions, but it is all of these ingredients working together. Our efforts to spread the grace-filled, life-changing salvation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ are augmented when we work together when we mix our talents into a succulent stew. We help each other reflect the light. Two mirrors are more effective than one. Three are even better. Put all of us together and watch out!
Finally, and most importantly, we must remember always that we are not the light. Jesus is. It is our job to reflect that light that he magnifies through his Holy Spirit and through our fellowship. Douglas R. A. Hare reminds us that “It is only as the church genuinely proclaims Christ as Lord, that is, not by mouthing theological platitudes but by manifesting his life in its life, that the church can truly be the light of the world.”[3] Hare adds, “the church needs to remember constantly that it is in fact not the light itself but only the window through which the light is to be seen.”
Every church should read that every week. It is not about us. It is about Jesus. He is the light that we reflect to the world. He is the one who should illuminate the way with every word we proclaim, every outreach endeavor we launch, everything — everything we do in this place and what we do when we depart.
There is a great line offered by John the Baptist: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). This was his way of further emphasizing that he is not the Christ. He simply preparing for and pointing the way to him. The famous Isenheim Altarpiece by Mathias Grünewald illustrates this beautifully, showing Jesus on the cross (which is the main point of his coming) and John the Baptist pointing at him with an elongated index finger. That’s what we are called to do. We are to point the way.
Keep pointing. Keep glowing. Keep reflecting the light of Christ. Amen.
[1] The following story was taken from Sermon Central (online), published August 6, 2010.
[2] Ed Vasicek, “All Things Work Together,” taken from Sermon Central (online), published June 15, 2020.
[3] Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew (Louisville: John Know Press, 1993), 45. This is the citation for this and the quote that follows..