Thought for Today
Job 37:21 Now, no one can look on the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them.
Psalm 43:3 O send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.
Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid.
Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, "This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!"
Currently, everywhere I look I see a blanket of snow and/or ice. Mostly snow on the ground and the pond nearby, ice on our driveway. Sunday morning, when I awakened the snowfall was abating. Naturally, my snowblower wouldn’t start. I did shovel clear half of the driveway, so we can at least get one car out of the garage. But, this morning, as I sit at my computer and look at the field behind our home, I see a blanket of snow. Of course, I have to squint because of the reflected sunlight off the snow. Last night, before I went to bed, I looked out at the field and noticed that the reflected moonlight was almost bright enough to read a book outside . . . assuming anyone might want to read outside when the temperature was in the mid-20s.
We don’t read much about snow in the Bible. The word only appears 19 to 24 times, depending on the translation. Our ancestors-in-the-faith were aware of snow; they knew what snow was. They just didn’t have much experience with snow. Generally, Biblical references to snow focus on its whiteness.
We do find many references in scripture to light, both from the sun and from the moon. Interestingly, neither ‘sunlight’ nor ‘moonlight’ appear in the Bible. But lights and light imagery appear often. From the Creation narrative in Genesis to Revelation, light and the desirability of light are mentioned. Imagine the importance of light in a world without electricity. Most of us are too young to remember a time before almost everyone had electricity and electric lights. Many of us, however, remember hearing stories from our parents or grandparents about a time before even the night sky was bright with the reflected light from cities and towns. Few of us have ever experienced true, total darkness.
This morning, as I look out at the field, Job’s words take on a whole new meaning for me. There are almost no clouds in view. The glare off the snow is blinding. Admittedly, I’m not the least tempted to go outside. It’s still cold and the wind is gusting. But, I am thinking about light imagery in the Bible.
Transfiguration Sunday will be celebrated this year on March 2nd. “Luke 9:28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.” I don’t think that ‘dazzling white’ had anything to do with reflected light off any snow on the ground.
Neither do I believe Jesus’ words about our being the light of the world had anything to do with reflections or snow. Yes, Matthew chapter 5 does occur on a mountain. But, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and the beatitudes recorded by Matthew in that sermon, are more about the Kingdom of God and about us.
As Christians, we dedicate our lives to advancing the Kingdom of God, to hastening its arrival and fruition. We do so by patterning our own lives on the life of Jesus. That is why we are “the light of the world.” But, our status as the light of the world must also be understood in terms of the very next verse, “5:15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.”
Jesus did not come to light lives that would be put under a bushel basket. Christians are called to give light to all in God’s house, to all of God’s children. We do so by the lives we lead and the way we witness God’s love to each other. The word Christian is usually used as a noun. Christians should demonstrate lives that use that noun as an active verb. The word Christian should be a clarion call to lives of service.
Stay safe, share your light with God’s Creation, trust God,
Pastor Ray