Third Sunday after the Epiphany
January 27, 2008
The Rev. Charles Henrickson
See the Light, Be the Light (Matt. 4:12-25; 5:14-16)
This year, because Easter will be falling on March 23,
the earliest date in any of our lifetimes, we are
having the shortest possible Epiphany season we can
have. As a result, some of the Gospel readings we
would normally hear on the Sundays after the Epiphany
are being cut out. One of those readings would be
from Matthew 5, and Ive printed a few verses of it in
your bulletin for today. Matthew 5:14-16, where Jesus
tells his disciples: You are the light of the world.
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people
light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a
stand, 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 who is in heaven.
Now thats in Matthew 5. The appointed Gospel reading
for today is from Matthew 4, and it includes this
quote from Isaiah: The people dwelling in darkness
have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the
region and shadow of death, on them a light has
dawned.
So Matthew 4, The people dwelling in darkness have
seen a great light. Matthew 5, You are the light of
the world. What I want to do today is show how we
get from Matthew 4 to Matthew 5. Who are those people
dwelling in darkness? What is that great light that
has dawned on them? And how do they then--how do
we--come to be the light of the world? And whats
more, now that we are the light of the world, what
does that mean for our lives as individual disciples
and for our work together as the church?
Our starting point is found in the words, the people
dwelling in darkness. Or again, those dwelling in
the region and shadow of death. Who are those
darkness-and-death dwellers? Thats us. Thats where
we were. Living in Sin City. Living in the Land of
Shadows. Darkness and death all around. The people
dwelling in darkness, in the region and shadow of
death.
It was like that back in the time of Isaiah. It was
like that centuries later, when Jesus came on the
scene. And its still like that today. This world,
this sinful world, is a place of darkness and death.
That was the world into which Jesus came. A place
where a violent ruler like Herod slaughtered innocent
children to suit his lust for power. But guess what?
The world is no different today. Its a
place--America is a place--where 50 million babies
have been slaughtered in the last 35 years, simply
because they were inconvenient and unwanted. This
world of darkness and death is a place where
children--and women, and men--are blown up by
terrorist bombers, in their lust for power.
Darkness and death--sometimes its easy to see, when
its out there and not us. But sometimes we dont
see it, because we are too far into it, in our own
version of darkness and death. Were not the ones
doing the abortions or the bombings, so we think were
better than those bad people. And we miss or minimize
our own dark side and the death at work inside of us.
But maybe weve just learned to refine our darkness to
make us look more respectable. Maybe were just
fortunate enough to have death not come visiting us
quite yet. But death is on the way, and the darkness
we hide from others is not hidden from God. Land of
Zebulun, land of Naphtali. Land of Bonne Terre, land
of Missouri. Take your pick, theres no avoiding the
inescapable truth: We are those people dwelling in
darkness, in the region and shadow of death.
But now the Good News: The people dwelling in
darkness have seen a great light, and for those
dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a
light has dawned. Thats what this Epiphany season
is all about: The light of Christ breaking into this
dark and deadly world. Look, we have seen a great
light! On us a light has dawned! Christ himself is
that bright Morning Star!
The light of Christ has dawned; the light of Christ is
shining. Light and life to all he brings, risn with
healing in his wings. And so Jesus went throughout
all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and
proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing
every disease and every affliction among the people.
Jesus ministry of preaching and teaching and healing
brought light into the lives of people dwelling in
darkness. Jesus ministry manifested him to be the
Messiah, the Christ, the Savior sent from heaven,
bringing the blessings of the kingdom of heaven to
people here on earth.
Jesus announces the arrival of that kingdom and calls
all of us sinners to turn to him to find it: Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He heals the
sick and delivers the demonized, showing what his
mission will accomplish, by undoing the domain of
Satan and reversing the curse of death. Christ will
redeem these bodies of ours and restore this fallen
creation. And Jesus teaches. He calls disciples to
follow him and learn from him, and he teaches them.
He will teach them the blessedness of being his
disciples, a blessedness that does not always look
like it in this world, but blessedness nevertheless,
for it belongs to disciples of Jesus and it is safe
and sure in heaven.
The light of Christ has dawned; the light of Christ is
shining. Jesus ministry, his mission of bringing
light and life into a world of darkness and
death--that mission will lead him to a place of
darkness and death, Golgotha, the place of the skull.
There Jesus took our darkness and our death into his
own body, as he suffered for our sins, the righteous
Son of God dying on the cross in our place. And
darkness came over all the land.
You see, the darkness and the death had to be
conquered in order for the light to shine. And now it
has. Christ has done it for us. He is the light of
the world. The light of his holy, all-availing
sacrifice . . . the light of his glorious, victorious
resurrection . . . that redeeming light has dawned
upon us, as sure as the dawn that arose on Easter
morning. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the
only light there is.
So then, how can Jesus say, to us, You are the light
of the world? Didnt Jesus say somewhere else, I am
the light of the world? Yes, he did. So how can
both be true? But thats just it. Because Jesus is
the light of the world, the only true light there is,
we his disciples--we are now the light of the world,
in a derivative sense. Because we are connected to
Christ, we Christians are light also. On us a light
has dawned. On us has light shined. And now through
us that same light shines out to others, to a world in
need of light.
Think of the sun and the moon. The sun, of course, is
the source of light. But the moon is a reflector of
the suns light, and in that sense it gives light to
the earth. That analogy can help us understand what
Jesus is saying. He himself is the true light, the
source of the light we have in us, for we have none in
and of ourselves. But we do reflect and shine forth
his great light.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill
cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put
it under a basket, but on a stand, 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 who is in heaven.
You are the light of the world. Notice what Jesus
does not say. He does not say, You need to work your
way up to becoming the light of the world by your own
inner righteousness and striving. No, nothing of the
sort. You are the light of the world, you already
are, simply by virtue of being Jesus disciples.
Thats nothing you did. Thats something Christ did,
by calling you to himself. When God baptized you, he
made you his own child, Christ called you to be his
disciple, and the Holy Spirit enlightened you with his
gifts. Enlightened in your baptism--thats who you
are, thats how the light of Christ dawned on you!
You are the light of the world, that is, you reflect
and shine forth the light of Christ. And now let your
light shine before others by your life of good works.
Gasp! A Lutheran preacher talking about good works!
I thought Lutherans were against good works! No, by
no means! What we are against is thinking we can earn
eternal life or merit Gods favor by virtue of our
works. That is what we reject, because the Bible
rejects it: By works of the law no human being will
be justified in Gods sight.
Our works cannot save us or even contribute one iota
to our salvation. Only the completed work of Christ
can do that. Therefore you and I dont need our
good works. But our neighbor does! He needs our
deeds of love done out of a living faith in Christ.
Our neighbor who is hurting can sure use our help.
Our neighbor who still is dwelling in the land
darkness and death--that person needs to hear the good
news of the light of Christ. And Christ will
therefore use us, he will use our good works of deed
and word, in order to bring his light to others.
So let that light shine! Dont hide it. Be who you
are, a new person in Christ, alive in the Spirit.
Live fully yourself in Christs light, enlightened by
Word and Sacrament, forgiven and refreshed and
strengthened, and then you will naturally shine forth
that light out to others. The good works you do will
help your neighbor and will bring praise and glory to
God. Let your light shine before others, so that
they may see your good works and give glory to your
Father who is in heaven. Thats where the glory
goes, to God, not to us. Not unto us, O Lord, not
unto us, but unto thy name give glory.
Let your light shine. This happens in our daily
lives as individual Christians, and it happens in our
life together as church. Are there people in your
life, in your family, at your work, to whom you can be
a light for Christ this week? Who needs your help,
and how can you help them? There is the place to
shine your light. Be who you are, in Christ.
You and I are light of the world also in our work
together as Christs congregation. Today we are
installing all the officers of our congregation and of
our auxiliaries. This congregation has plenty of
light to shine, to our members, to our community, and
even to our world. That is to say, we have plenty of
work to do! The only limit is our vision and our
numbers and our energy, but our Lord will help us get
done what he would have this little flock to do. And
our church officers are not the only workers. They
help us coordinate our work together, but each of us
here has a role to play and something to contribute.
Just ask the officers how you can help! As the old
saying goes, Many hands make light work, and that
applies also in our work of shining the light of
Christ. We need each other, and we need all of us
together, to do all that our Lord would have us do.
See the Light, Be the Light: That really sums up
our message for today. The people dwelling in
darkness have seen a great light. That people is us,
and the great light is Christ. We see his Epiphany
light dawning upon us, shining on us with the light of
life, life redeemed and restored for eternity. Yes,
Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the only one
there is. And now, enlightened by him, his light
shines through us out to others. See the Light, Be
the Light. In that light, Jesus says to you and me,
his disciples: You are the light of the world.
Charles Henrickson
4749 Melissa Jo Ln
St. Louis, MO 63128
(314) 845-8811 (home)
(314) 779-8108 (cell)
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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