Stewardship Sunday October 12-13, 2024
“Let Your Light Shine” Matthew 5:16
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
You are the light of the world. A city on the hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)
Sometimes God does the most unexpected things in your life, especially when you are not expecting it. A couple weeks ago I was invited to an informational meeting that included a free meal. I liked the part about the free meal!! It was a meeting about a homeless initiative. A man, probably about 65-70 years old spoke about a conversation that changed his life some 40 years ago.
AIDS was thee issue in our world about 30-40 years ago, back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. This man who spoke said a friend came to him and said, “This AIDS thing is going to be big. It will change the world.” That man told him there are three ways that we can approach this:
- We can pretend that it doesn’t exist. If we don’t have it, if none of our family has it, if we don’t have any friends who have it, we can just close our eyes and we don’t have to even think of it.
- We can say that they deserve what they got. If they got that disease that is their problem and not mine.
- Or, we can say, “How can I help?” “What can I do?” “How can I assist others who are suffering so.”
That man said that those three options to life’s questions changed how he lived his life from that day forward. His studies led him to be a CPA and then he began a career in public health, and he now finds himself retired. But his passion was more than his occupation, more than how he would pay the bills. His passion was how to get involved in people’s needs, how to look for solutions, how to show mercy. It has started with the AIDS crisis and now his passion is for the homeless.
As I listened to him I was thinking about the words of Jesus, “You are the light of the world.” I guess we all have a choice on how we are going to live in this world. We can close our eyes or say that that whatever the problem is, about doesn’t concern us. We can point the finger at others and say they are lazy, they made bad choices or they are the ones to blame. Or, we can see how we can help.
“You are the light of the world.” How can that be? I think Jesus is thinking too highly of us. After all, didn’t Jesus take that title for Himself? In John 9 Jesus was asked the question about who to blame for a man’s blindness. His disciples approached him and said, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” But Jesus said that neither the sin of that man, nor of his parents had led to his blindness. And then Jesus goes on, “This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (See John 9:1-5)
Jesus is the light of the world. The work of the devil is darkness. Jesus came to destroy that work, that darkness. The wars that we see are the work of darkness. The hatred that is spoken and acted on is darkness. It can overtake people, it can overtake us. Darkness is seen when we live in self-promotion, pride and the quick condemnation of others. Jesus came to be a light in this dark world.
Isn’t it fitting that God used darkness and light on Good Friday and on Easter to show the work of Jesus? When Jesus was on the cross from noon to 3 – the time when Jesus died – darkness covered the whole land. The folks had to be asking about this strange eclipse that lasted 3 hours!! The Son of God dies carrying the filth of mankind. How dark!! But on Easter morning, when the sun was coming up, the women went to the tomb and what did they see – two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning. The light of the world – Jesus Christ – was back. Alive. Resurrected.
Do you have darkness in your life? Sure, we all do. The darkness of our sin. The darkness of our discouragement and hopelessness. Sometimes we can’t even see a sliver of hope!! We experience the darkness of our impending mortality. We see our body wasting away and sometimes there is no way to reverse it. But Jesus is the light of the world. And He is your light. He is your Savior. He is the Lord over all things. St. John begins his gospel about Jesus with the words, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness.” (John 1:4-5)
And then Jesus connects us to His work. “You are the light of the world.” “The lamp gives light to everyone in the house.”
This past Tuesday, former President Jimmy Carter turned 100 years old. He served this country from 1977 until 1981 as our 39th President. In these last 40 years he didn’t just sit around. He got busy. He saw needs and he sought to help. He was a humanitarian who won the Nobel Peace Prize. You would see him involved in the Habitat for Humanity as well as many other projects. His grandson, Jason Carter said of his grandfather, “Not everyone gets 100 years on earth, and when somebody does, and when they use that time to do so much good for so many people, it’s worth celebrating.”
I’m beginning to think that there is much too much evil in this world. I’m beginning to shake my head about things that are going on. So, what do we do? Close our eyes and pretend? Point the finger and blame? Or act?
Jesus is the light of the world, there is no hope without Him in our lives. And we, through Him, become a light to the world. Notice what Jesus says about us, “People do not light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.” You are light. Don’t hide it. Live it. Show it.
Paul would say to us, “Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8) What opportunities does God place before you every day? How will you respond? Dr. Jeff Gibbs in his commentary on this passage writes, “Jesus’ disciples are be extraordinary husbands and wives, remarkable neighbors and employees, powerful friends and citizens. Their deeds and their words, in the power of faith and the Spirit, will be like salt, like light in the darkness.” (Concordia Commentary, Matthew 1:1-11:1, Page 262)
Be a brilliant light in your home, among your family, at your school, in your job, among your friends – and also be a light here. God has placed before this congregation great opportunities to be light in this community. I ask you to be amazingly generous in your offerings. I ask you to seek to use your skills, abilities, your muscles, and your time in what we do together as a congregation. There are some great needs in front of us. There look to be some challenges that we, as a congregation, have not faced for some time. At this time in your life and in the life of this congregation, I ask you to be a light through this church.
And why do we do it? We live our life that way so hearts may praise God Himself. “In the same way, let your light before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Wouldn’t that be something? People receive mercy, kindness, a word of hope, the guidance to have faith in Jesus and they praise God. They look to God and they realize how graced they are. You gave them the light of Jesus. You gave them the light of love and hope.
When that guy spoke at that event about helping the homeless a few weeks ago he spoke to me. Too often I have covered my eyes when a need existed. Too often if the problem wasn’t mine, I don’t want to get involved. Too often I found someone to blame for the misery they had. But there is another option. There is a better way. How can I help? How can I be light in the darkness?
Jesus said, “You are light of the world.” “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Amen!!
