This is what I preached this morning. Forgive me for not typing out the one personal story and the joke...but somethings are just better in person.
God bless - John
“Children of the Light”
Ephesians 5:6-15
A sermon preached to the congregation at First Presbyterian Church in
Hastings, Nebraska on April 3, 2011, the Third Sunday in Lent
So seldom do I encounter a pericope of scripture that I believe I can turn into a short sermon. But I think I can do this one in one sentence. Are you ready? Do you believe me? You don’t want to miss is it. Here is the sermon in one sentence: Because God has proclaimed that light is good, the apostle Paul wants us to live as good children of the light. Can I get an amen?
Live as the children of the light. This is the central message of our reading from Paul’s letter to the church in
Ephesus. It is what Paul is strongly urging the people in
Ephesus to do: to live in light and not darkness. And it sounds like a pretty simple, black and white or dare I say, light and dark, case of straightforward biblical truth.
You, my dear people of God, are to live as children of the light.
What exactly does it mean when Paul urged the church in
Ephesus nearly 2000 years ago…and the Spirit urges us today to live as children of the light?
Consider this: in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus is quoted as saying “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light so shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Jesus says you are the light of the world. And he is speaking to a crowd of ordinary, everyday people, gathered on the Judean hillside. And consider that in the very beginning of our scriptures, in the book of Genesis, describing the creation of the world, it reads that “the earth was a formless void and darkness covered that face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.” The light is proclaimed as good in the first sentences of our holy scriptures. Light is good.
So, in our holy scriptures, God proclaims that light is good and Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world. This is the light we are to live in (and out of) as children of God.
How then are we to live out our lives as children of the light? At first glance, this appears to be an easy task. Light is good; darkness is bad. Stay in the light. Don’t be in the dark. When I was a teenager I wanted my curfew to be a little bit later than my parents were willing. I am the youngest child and I was usually able to talk my parents into just about anything I wanted…but not this time. They simply told me – there is nothing you can do after midnight that is good and wholesome. Nothing good happens after midnight. The message was not that nothing happens in the darkness of night; but nothing good happens…and I couldn’t be a part of it. (As a parent I certainly understand now). Another way of thinking about living in the light is to be obedient, follow all 10 of God’s commandments all the time, not just some of them, some of the time, like when it’s convenient or easy. Or to be healthy, you know, eat 4-6 servings of green vegetables every day, get plenty of whole grains, limit your meat intake, get 30 minutes of cardio exercise three times a week; or to be conscious of the environment recycle, reuse, and reduce, and don’t leave the water running when you brush your teeth, bring your plastic bags back to the grocery store; or to be spiritually obedient, you know to give 10% of your income to the church (all the time, not just in times of prosperity), and buy Girl Scout cookies (just don’t eat them all in one sitting, remember the healthy list), pray without ceasing, pray for others, to love your enemies, get involved in your church community (which if your Presbyterian means to be on a committee), there you will have to learn how to say no, and when to say yes. And there’s the in general list of being good – you know the one that says to study hard, to make nice with your in-laws, to not judge others unless you have walked a mile in their shoe. Have I covered everything that should be on the list of living as a child of the light? Is there a more exhaustive list of behaviors? How many ways are there to live as a child of the light and which way is the right way?
One of the problems with simply listing the ways to walk as a child of God’s light is that it, not only does it not seem like you will have any manner of fun, but it becomes a little bit like work’s righteousness. If you do these steps and follow this program you will have eternal salvation. It makes being good the point of the Christian life. It reduces our faith to simply trying to act good. Not only does God’s grace not work like this, it is just too difficult to keep track of everything one should or should not; must and must not, can and can not. Although it is true that the good news of Jesus Christ and the good life of transformed discipleship are inseparable, virtue alone does not place one in the presence of God. It is God’s grace that makes virtue both a reality and a blessing in our lives and in the lives of others. We live as children of the light in response to the good news of Jesus Christ, not as a way to guarantee our place in the kingdom of heaven. We live as children of light because God’s grace is abundant and plentiful.
The other problem is that life is seldom as black and white as I just made it out to be. We often encounter situations in life that are various shades of gray. For example, the bible is fairly clear on that the responsibility of those who have is to be generous. But the bible doesn’t say how generous or to what extent. 10% of your income (before or after the IRS gets their percentage)? 10% of what you own? Daily? At the expense of your own family? Your own well being? And what about when the fire department comes knocking? And the kiwannis pancake feed? And the state troopers? And the march of dimes? And the…well you get the picture. When one tries to apply some of the biblical principles into day-to-day living, it becomes difficult very quickly. As I have struggled to live out God’s calling on my own personal life, I have learned that there are many more areas of gray than there are of black and white.
For example, when I was in sixth grade, I got in trouble. Now, this might not seem like that big of a deal, but I got in big trouble when I was 11 years old. I got into the kind of trouble that embarrassed my family because I wasn’t from the kind of family that got into any kind of trouble. We belonged to the Presbyterian Church!
(Tell the story of MCs sixth grade birthday party that ended with a thrown tomatoe hitting a police car, thus ending the party early.)
Sometimes the circumstances of our lives make it difficult to live as God’s children of the light. We are undoubtedly influenced by the people we are with and the context of the situation.
Live as children of the light.
At the end of our scripture for today Paul ends with a quote that has puzzled scholars because they can’t find the source. It’s not a biblical quote (which is something that Paul did all the time). Paul says “Sleeper awake. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine upon you.” Some scholars have suggested that this came from the early church’s ritual of baptism.
Baptism has always lifted up the symbolism of life and death. In the early church, baptismal fonts were actually pools on the floor of the church – big enough for the pastor and the initiate to stand in. They were designed to be in the shape of the cross and they were oriented on the East-West plane so that one would enter the pool from the west, where the sun sets symbolic of the end of the old life. And one would literally get dunked – be submersed into the cross – and rise out of the pool in the East – where the sun rises, where each day begins anew, symbolic of the new life. Baptism was (and still is for us today) the dying of one’s self and rising of one’s self into Christ Jesus. It is our engrafting and our belonging. I know that it has become the norm for many of us to baptize our babies and I confess that I like to hold that little baby and sprinkle some water on – it makes for a wonderful moment in the life of the congregation.
But there is a part of me that wants to build that cross-shaped dunking pool to re-emphasize that in baptism, there is death involved. Our sinful ways are dying. Our dark days are coming to an end. In a very real sense, in baptism we are being raised to new life with Jesus Christ so that we can continue his work and the work of the church. Our baptism awakens the light within us.
“Sleepers awake and rise from the dead for the light of Christ shines in you!”
There is this sense that in our baptism and through our faith in Jesus Christ we become God’s light. This light grows with us as we grow and the truth is we have a responsibility to do something with this light. We are children of light because we have the light of Christ within us all the time.
(Tell the joke about the wealthy man from
Florida without an hier. Punchline: I wanna know that name of the guy who pushed me in!)
Living as a child of the light is more that simply being good and following Jesus. And sometimes we need a little push to jump into it at full speed. Living as a child of the light is about changing the world around us. Recognizing that the light of Christ dwells within us – and that this light is good – we are called to shine that light into the dark and broken places of the world in ways that are relevant and make a difference.
You don’t need me to tell you this morning that there is darkness in the world. You can find out that there is something not right in the world by reading your local paper and watching the national news. There is much about the world that we live in that reflects brokenness. The world is changing rapidly around us and many feel left behind and disoriented. There are basic needs of humanity that are not being met. There are earthquakes and tsunamis and nuclear reactors breaking down in parts of our world, which doesn’t seem as small as it used to. And closer to home there are unknown futures, economic insecurities, changing times to worry about. You don’t have to look much further than your own front yard to know the reality that much of the world is in deep pain and brokenness; there is much around us that does not reflect God’s will for the world; God’s will for us. It is in this world, in the circumstances of our lives that we are called to shine the light of Jesus Christ.
Be light. We can make a difference. Our call as disciples of Jesus Christ is to bring light to dark places. This is what Christ’s disciples have always done. This is what the church has always done.
We do this in many ways, both big and small. You might not have what it takes to be president of the
United States of America, but you can be an advocate for laws that are just and fair. You might not discover the cure for cancer, but you can hold the hands of someone who is dying, you can care for the young widow who can’t believe their partner is gone. You might not invent a vaccine that prevents the spread of a deadly disease in poor countries around the globe, but you can visit the sick and share your love with others who are suffering. You don’t have to go far and to big and amazing things to make a difference in the place that you are.
Remember, God says, the light is good. Jesus says you are the light of the world. Paul says Live as children of the light.
And so my friends, I urge you to recognize the good and holy light of Christ within you and to recognize the responsibility that you have with that light. Shine your light into the darkness.
Amen and amen.
