Shine on

I don’t know if you’ve been to a baptism service recently, it’s one of my absolutely favourite things to do. Right at the end of the service we give the family a candle, lit from our Easter candle, and we say these words:

God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness

and has given us a place with the saints in light.

You have received the light of Christ;

walk in this light all the days of your life.

Shine as a light in the world

to the glory of God the Father.

The idea of Jesus being the light of the world, represented by the Easter candle, is a central theme of the baptism liturgy, but then right before we send the newly baptised back out into the world we’re telling them that they carry the light of Christ with them. They too are the light.

We hear this from Jesus himself see in today’s gospel reading (Matthew 5.13-20) where Jesus tells those listening that they’re both salt and light.

My understanding of what it means for us to be salt is salts ability to enhance things. It brings out flavour and preserves, in the bible we see it used to seal covenants or sprinkled on sacrifices. Jesus's followers are to enhance God's world.

Then, as is the baptism service, Jesus tells his listeners that they, not he, are the light of the world.  We’re not mere witnesses to the light, as is John’s gospel, not just the recipients of the light but it’s bearers. It’s our purpose to shine wherever we find ourselves; to shine with the love which Jesus has commanded us to share in his name. 

This sounds like a mammoth task, one we don’t necessarily feel worthy of, we know our own imperfections and the darkness in our own hearts. I read a wonderful quote this week; 

Once you’ve been in the dark you learn to appreciate everything that shines. 

And it only takes a tiny amount of light to be seen in the darkness.

You may be thinking that you can’t be the light because of how much you need that light yourself. The people Jesus was preaching to here felt that way too; they were imperfect people, drawn to the light of God reflected and perfected in Jesus.

There’s a famous Leonard Cohen lyric, often quoted since his death; ring the bells that still can ring, forget your perfect offering. There’s a crack in everything.  That’s how the light gets in.

Through our wounds and cracks and brokenness Christs light comes to us and shines into our darkness, through our darkness and out into the world; it becomes part of us so we can’t help but carry it with us, to wherever we find ourselves. We have received the light of Christ; and we walk in this light each day of our life. And we Shine as a light in the world to the glory of God the, Father.

Day 24

“We draw people to Christ not by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.”

(From Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle)

A suggestion for your prayer and meditation:

Read each line of the verse below slowly and in rhythm with your breath.

The true light,
which enlightens everyone,
was coming into the world

John 1:9
Pastor Patty Fox 40 days with 40 Christian mystics

My heart breaks for those whose religion (especially Christianity) is a serious of "dos" and "do nots". Faith is not a set of divinely ordered rules to restrict us, it's something which sets us free, causes us to shine and reveals God's love in the world through us.

Advent word - Shine

It's that time of year again so I'm going to attempt daily blogging through Advent, this year following the Society of St John The Evangelist's (SSJE) Advent Word. Each day they give you a word and image, encouraging people to respond with their own image.
The image I've used today is my bedside light. I've been working night shifts so this is mostly what I've seen when I've been at home.
Each day there's a really short reflection which goes with the image and word:

Rather than experiencing the sorrows of our world as a source of desolation, hear the news as a clarion call, as motivation and clarification for what we are to be about as followers of Jesus Christ: to bear the beams of God’s love and light and life, especially to those who wouldn’t otherwise know it.
-Br. Curtis Almquist

The word "shine" in terms of faith always reminds me of the baptism liturgy; after we give a lighted candle we all pray together "shine as a light in the world, to the glory of God the father". This is our prayer for the child, that they will shine in the world and in doing so reflect something of God.
These are uncertain times, maybe if more of us try to "shine" and bring light to others it will bring the comfort that comes when a light is shone in a dark place.