Let Your Light Shine
Matthew 5:14 – 16
(Note: Another past homily from St. Stephen, delivered on July 19, 2020)
Our homily today will be connected to that offered last Sunday (The account of Jesus healing the demoniac and allowing the demons to inhabit a herd of pigs who rushed headlong to their deaths in the sea.).
Before we address either, I ask you to look back with me to the opening verses of Holy Scripture – the account of the creation of the world (Genesis 1).
“The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2).
Attempting to imagine this scene, we may perceive a mass shrouded in utter darkness. The mass is enclosed within a covering of water upon which the Spirit of God was hovering (vs. 2). It has been suggested that this scene could be likened to that of a human egg enclosed within the womb of a mother awaiting conception.
At some point, God uttered His first recorded words, “Let there be light” (vs. 3). From that time and throughout history we have learned that light is both effectual energy and visible illumination. Please recall that the visible light we know from the sun was not present until the fourth day (vs. 14). So, the terms “light” and “darkness”, as they appear on the first day of creation, must refer to that of energy and non-energy, living and non-living, life and death.
Those words of God, then delivered through the Spirit, pierced the waters, and entered the inanimate mass of material we would later know as earth. With the entrance of the life-giving word the components of the mass came alive. Atoms, molecules, minerals, gases, etc. began to move with this influx of energy. The Psalmist expressed it, “The entrance of Your words gives light” (Psalm 119:130). Likewise, the Apostle John wrote, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4).
So, in those opening moments of history, darkness gave way to light and deadness gave way to life.
Turning briefly to last week’s Gospel (Matthew 8:28-34), the darkness of fear, turmoil, death, and disorder held the community of Gadara hostage. Just as the Son had stood with the Father at the beginning, so now He stood on the seashore in Gadara, staring into the face of the demonic darkness. As He stood gazing into his face, it was as if He spoke those same words, “Let there be light”. It was as though that light drove away the darkness of ignorance and fear from that man and the people.
Jesus stood in the darkness of Gadara as a: Lamp to lighten a path to life, Laser to heal the wounds of sin, and Lighthouse to guide them home to God.
We acknowledge this manifestation of divine light each time we recite the Lord’s Prayer. “For Thine is the kingdom (the environment of light) and the power (the energy of light) and the glory (the expression of light), now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.”
May we step out of time for a moment and look at some witnesses standing nearby who, themselves, have seen God’s light in special ways…
Moses saw that light as he stood before the Lord on the mountain (Exodus 34:29-35).
Gideon saw that light when they broke the jars and the Midianites fled (Judges 7:16-21).
Elijah saw that light when the chariot of fire descended from heaven to take him home (II Kings 2:11).
Isaiah saw that light when he saw the Lord high and lifted up and His glory filled the temple (Isaiah 6:1-3).
Simeon saw that light when he held the child and said, “my eyes have seen Your salvation … a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:30, 32).
Peter saw that light when he beheld Jesus transfigured on Mt. Tabor; His face and clothes shown so brightly and they beheld His glory” (Mark 9:2, 3).
Paul saw that light on the road to Damascus, and I knew that Jesus was the Lord” (Acts 9:3-5).
John saw that light while standing on Patmos, viewing the heavenly things and the glory of the New Jerusalem” (Revelation 21:21-26).
Turning now to our Gospel for today, we hear an astounding word from the lips of Jesus, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). The same light that opened the door of history, that the people of Gadara saw, that those aforementioned witnesses (along with many more) saw, that the Church Fathers call the “uncreated light”, has now been given to us – you and me. This is the light by which God has imparted knowledge, wholeness, and beauty from Himself. Yes, we are the light of the world!
We are powerfully reminded of this in the darkness of Pascha (Easter) night as the priest cries, “Come, take the light which is not overcome by darkness”.
We are infused with that same light through the waters of Baptism and the oil of Chrismation. In the Early Church, baptism was called “holy illumination”.
We have been united to Christ through the sacraments of the Church and so nourished by them to keep that light alive within us.
We are continually strengthened as we read the Holy Scriptures daily:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105)
“A people who walk in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:1)
“I am the light of the world” (John 8:12)
“Believe in the light, that you may become sons of light” (John 12:36)
“Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the world. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8)
“… that you may become … children of God … in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15)
“… that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (I Peter 2:9)
Now, He says to us also, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).
Yes, His light is also our light. As He let His light shine in Gadara and Jerusalem and Antioch, and even now here in Georgia, so it is our calling to follow in His steps and in the steps of the Apostles and the Saints who have gone before us. We are called so that those coming behind us will walk in the light and not in the darkness.
We must let our light shine, not with pride but without shame. We let it shine visibly, not for praise but as an example. We don’t hide it under a basket of fear, embarrassment nor intimidation, but on a lampstand of faith, encouragement, and inspiration.
In the words of a song (which we probably have used before), “May those who come behind us find us faithful; may the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe and the lives we live inspire them to obey”.
Kh. Dannie and I have tried, over the last 55 years of ministry, to let our light shine so that those who come behind us will glorify our Father in heaven. May it be for all of you as well.
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I will now risk making this too lengthy and tiresome for you. When this homily was delivered just prior to our retirement, I felt compelled to end with a story I heard many years ago. So, I will share it again now, asking your patience.
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In the early 1900’s, there was a well-known atheist in this country, Robert Ingersoll. He travelled far and wide espousing his beliefs that God does not exist and anyone who thought otherwise was foolish and ignorant. On one occasion, he was speaking at the famed Carnegie Hall Opera House in Philadelphia. For some time, he ranted and raved before his listeners, claiming his experience and intelligence as weapons.
At some point, there appeared to be some stirring in the rear of the hall. Moments passed and the figures of two young children emerged from the darkness, walking down the aisle. Then their voices could be heard, first by those in the rear and then as they came toward the front. They were quietly singing a familiar hymn, “Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross…”. As they passed each row, the people, spontaneously, rose to their feet and began to sing along. By the time the young boy and girl reached the stage and stood before the speaker, the entire audience was on their feet and their voices reverberated throughout the hall, “Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross. Lift high His royal banner; it must not suffer loss!”
Robert Ingersoll knew he had been defeated. He lowered his head, took his papers, and left the stage. Two young children had let their light shine. May we do likewise.
Fr. Andrew
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