Sermon - Healing Light

We live in a world filled with temptations – some rather innocent but many evil in nature and consequence. It can be something that seems to be harmless. You’re feeling tired and decide skipping Bible study would be okay just this time. Then it turns into twice, three times, and eventually you stop going altogether.

And there are times the temptations are stepping stones to greater problems and challenges. It can be an action driven by desperation. In these economic times we are facing, good people may be tempted to lie, cheat or steal to meet their needs.

It all boils down to choices. Choices between right and wrong, good and evil, Christ and self. Our society teaches us to be self-centered, not God-centered. Oprah preaches a different kind of gospel than the one we find in our Bibles. Self-help, self-realization, self-actualization… They are all out there and they lead to – no surprise – selfishness rather than service.

In today’s scripture from Psalm 141, we find David pleading with God to protect him from evil. This plea for God’s attention can, on the surface, seem selfish. Then we read why David is seeking God’s intervention – to help him become a better person. From The Message version, this passage reads as follows:

1-2 God, come close. Come quickly! Open your ears—it's my voice you're hearing! Treat my prayer as sweet incense rising; my raised hands are my evening prayers.

The imagery of our prayers as incense is compelling. Think of how incense or any strong fragrance permeates a space, finding every nook and cranny, reaching to all the corners of a room. So David wishes his prayers would be – filling the space with their essence and rising unchecked to the heavens where his Creator would hear and answer them.

3-7 Post a guard at my mouth, God, set a watch at the door of my lips.

I think I should have that embroidered on a pillow to carry with me always. Too often my mouth runs faster than my brain and I get myself into trouble. It’s not always intentional, sometimes deserved, and always a result of a lack of self-control.

Don't let me so much as dream of evil or thoughtlessly fall into bad company. And these people who only do wrong— don't let them lure me with their sweet talk!

Isn’t that the way it is with evil temptations? They sound so good… They are the easy way out, the lazy route, the greedy grabbing. And there are people who only do wrong. We all know them and need to be their example of virtue instead of prey to their snare. Falling in with charismatic sinners leads to the downfall of many virtuous Christian who are looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places.

May the Just One set me straight, may the Kind One correct me, Don't let sin anoint my head. I'm praying hard against their evil ways!

When we are tempted, we have a lifeline – the same one David is calling out to in this Psalm. He knows his God, our God, will rescue him from evil. And he knows prayer is his best weapon against the traps being set all around him.

Oh, let their leaders be pushed off a high rock cliff; make them face the music. Like a rock pulverized by a maul, let their bones be scattered at the gates of hell.

Well, David is an imaginative man. While wishing his tempters experience a painful demise, he also prays for them to face the music – meaning their creator God who will judge the wicked for their ways.

Temptations are all around us, so prevalent in fact Christ included them in the prayer he taught his disciples. And think about those words – lead us not from temptation but deliver us from evil. We know from this sentence we will never escape temptation so we must be equipped to resist it.

How tempting it would be to sleep in on Sunday mornings instead of going to church and Sunday school. I’m so glad each of you made the decision to offer yourselves in worship today. It pleases God when his children gather together and join in singing, study, and prayer.

When we turn to the reading from 1 John 1:5-7, we begin to understand how God through Christ prepares us to face the world.

5This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him.

I remember – very vaguely – studying pure light in high school science classes. The theories I learned then and have forgotten now are nothing compared to the reality that is God. In him there is no darkness – what better guide and guardian could we ask to have for our journey through life?

6-7If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth—we're not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin.

What is John telling us? There is a path, a specific path, we can follow which releases us from evil. We can walk with God – pure light – and enjoy riches beyond our wildest dreams, much greater than any of the worldly treasures we may be tempted with. In our shared lives, we will find our salvation as Christ’s blood cleanses us of all our sin.

Without light – without God in our lives - we stumble, fall, can’t find our way. So many of our friends and family are searching right now, looking for solutions to problems in their lives. They need light shed on the path they should take. And that light is a relationship with God and his son, Jesus. We can’t force intimacy but we can make introductions. And in seeing the light, we see also the path we are led to take. No more stubbed toes, bruises, or smashed noses.

It’s a joyous event when someone you love opens their heart to Christ, letting him in so sins are forgiven and life begins anew. As beacons of God’s love ourselves, we play a vital role in that revelation. When we shine with the light of Christ in us, we become models others want to seek.
We all know people who radiate light. They are loving, gentle, and spirit-filled. We are attracted to them because they possess something wonderful – we can feel it.

And that same spirit is offered to each of us in Christ. Turning our hearts and minds over completely to Jesus is scary because we are giving up control. And that’s beyond frightening. But remember – when we release our control, we are giving it to God who desires only good for his children.

When I was a child, I was afraid of the dark. Looking back I can blame mom for this fear because she was the one who put the nightlight in my bedroom when I was tiny. It remained because I wanted to be able to see what was in my room. My dependence on a nightlight earned ridicule from my younger brother, of course. And it made sleepovers really interesting.

I remember going to my friend’s house for a sleepover when I was in third or fourth grade. I was thrilled with the prospect of spending the night at her house. But when bedtime came, the thrill was gone. My friend preferred a dark bedroom. Really dark. Inky black dark.

For a long time that night I lay in bed with my eyes wide open yet seeing nothing. I was afraid to close them, not knowing what may arrive to terrify me. Yet the circumstances were the same with eyes open or shut. Darkness.

How much like that night must life without Christ be? Seeking desperately to see but unable to escape the dark while the soul searches for life-saving, life-affirming, life-giving light.

Our passage from Matthew addresses two symbols – salt and light. Let’s concentrate on the latter

14-16"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

You’re here to be light. It’s that simple, that scary, and that prophetic. We are all God’s children, created to be his light in the world. His intention for us is clear. He didn’t create us to hide our light rather we are to be beacons for all the world to see.

This passage goes on to say – be generous with your lives.

I think one of the greatest benefits we have as Christians is the fellowship we form with each other. The generosity in terms of love, support and prayers empowers us to do great things in Jesus’ name. We are able to share openly of our faith and its sustaining power.

How many times have we encountered seemingly impossible challenges – hills much too high to climb – yet we have overcome because we relied on our faith, eagerly sought prayers, and took each step forward knowing God was on our side, Jesus was in our hearts, and the Holy Spirit was enfolding us?

In our sharing, our openness with each other, we become community with each other and our Creator, Savior, and Redeemer. In so doing, the unlimited potential we have been blessed with is unleashed.

It goes without saying there will be obstacles to overcome, challenges to face, tests to endure, and heartache. All of these will be little more than annoyances when we shed the light of Christ on them.

Christ himself suffered. We are to be like Christ and know we will also be tested and suffer. Yet nothing will compare to the ultimate sacrifice Christ made when he hung on the cross for us. In that act of devotion to his Father and each of us, Christ poured out his blood to ensure our salvation.

Let us leave here, washed by the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice and in his light. Let us be lights shining for men to see and draw their attention to the love of Christ in each of us.

Gracious and heavenly Father,

You are great and greatly to be praised. All honor and glory are yours. By your light we live, see our future and set our path.

Thank you for loving us unconditionally and for saving us from impenetrable darkness. We are filled with wonder at your being, your power, and your might.

Forgive us, Lord, when we hide our light, when we don’t share the message of the gospel with
those who need to hear. Forgive us for waiting to be asked to serve rather than volunteering out of the gratitude we have for your presence in our lives.

Let our lights shine as brightly as a beacon in the night, shining the way for all to see the glory of salvation made possible by Jesus.

We ask your continued blessings and your peace be with us all.

Amen.

© Ann Trimble-Ray 2010