“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, 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 in heaven."
Matthew 5:14-16 (NRSVue)
If you live in an urban area, the chances are it never gets dark. In fact, with all of our electronic lights from digital devices, clocks, screens, etc., it may not matter where you live. Ambient light shines for us 24/7. Even when you drive out of the city, you can still see the glow on the horizon.
I'm not sure what this does for us psychologically, but it does dampen the power of Jesus' words simply because we don't live in the same context of darkness and light.
Jesus was likely telling this sermon first to a peasant class of people that were subjugated by a foreign power whose ruler whom they had never seen except on coins claimed to be divine. These were people who had to receive these coins to earn a living who lived by the commandment, "Have no other gods before me."
In this sermon, Jesus does not proclaim himself as the light - which is a theological statement highlighted by John's Gospel. He doesn't have to give his own accolades - the crowd was spellbound by the things he'd already been saying. To a downtrodden, poor people who likely felt some sense of constant low-level guilt through their acceptance of the everyday circumstances, he proclaims to them, "You are the light of the world!"
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| Do you see the light shining through the cage? |
The reversals of common assumptions keep coming.
What would have been their reaction? Some may have laughed outright. Ridiculous! Some may have laughed nervously expecting the punchline because they are used to being the butt of someone's jokes. Some may have walked away scornfully at this point, thinking that Jesus must be mad - people who have been thrown down too many times to imagine that they could get back up. Angry at the indication that they should even try.
But Jesus doesn't waver at this. This sermon or iterations of it must have been preached many times because Matthew wrote it down for the world to hear.
For you to hear.
The anxieties seem to be at an all-time high in U.S. culture today. These stresses come from all the changes we face. Remember all that ambient light? It comes from increases in technology which move faster than we can keep up. It gives weariness to people that may rival that of the peasant class in Jesus' day. It's just a different kind but it's no less real.
During the season of Lent as we walk with Jesus through the wilderness, what if you embraced your role as light for a day? What would that look like for you?
Prayer for the day: Ever-present God, we do have times when get it - when we are happy and the joy bubbling up must be shared. But we may be reluctant to let it out because it has been squashed by people before. Help us to see that the darkness overcomes the light when we give in to this hesitance. Let us remember the words of Jesus that we are the light of the world and by your Spirit, embrace them. Amen.
Photo by Justin De La Ornellas via Flickr.com. Used under the Creative Commons license.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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