The Light Of The World
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Object:
This Sunday offers those who follow the lectionary a massive buffet -- you can select from as many as four different sets of texts for preaching and worship options. You can choose to celebrate the First Sunday after Christmas, the Holy Name of Jesus (traditionally observed on January 1), or New Year's Day -- and since next Sunday will be Baptism of the Lord Sunday, those who wish to highlight the Epiphany texts may use January 1st as Epiphany Sunday. While there are some common passages within the various options, the wide range of choices offers numerous possibilities to explore. There are some themes, however, that are appropriate for most of these celebrations -- and in this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Dean Feldmeyer contemplates one of these: the motif of "light." Of course, light is the central metaphor for the coming Epiphany season -- but it is also a major thread in the gospel texts for the First Sunday after Christmas, where Simeon tells Jesus' parents in the temple that their little baby will be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel" (Luke 2:32), and for New Year's Day, where the Light of Christ "who comes in his glory" reveals how we are called to care for the needs of our fellow human beings as a sign of our care and devotion to our Lord. Yet the most striking example of light and the illumination it provides comes in the Isaiah text for Epiphany, and a sermon based on this theme could stand alone or be the first of a two-part series (using Genesis 1:1-5 next week [the First Lesson text for the Baptism of Our Lord]).
As Dean notes, light was an especially powerful image in biblical times -- but while we take our many artificial sources of light for granted these days, light is still a powerful image for us. Though we've created "light pollution" that makes it difficult to observe natural phenomena, light still is our preferred metaphor for describing illumination and the clarity it brings to human motives and behavior. (Think of the adage that "sunlight is the greatest disinfectant," for example.) The vast number and power of the artificial lights we've created may overwhelm natural light at times -- but as Dean reminds us, there is no more powerful light for and in our lives than the Light of the World.
Team member George Reed offers some additional thoughts on the story of the Magi and their trip to visit the new king of the Jews. We commonly refer to them as the "wise men" -- and George identifies several traits that demonstrate their wisdom: their clarity of dedication to a mission, their motivation to act on it, and most of all their ability to adjust their expectations and keep "their eyes on the prize" as they cope with the inevitable curveballs that life tosses in their path. George notes that we could learn a great deal from them about being wise in the ways of God and being open to where God leads us. While George draws on the Epiphany story, the themes of wisdom and adjusting our actions to the flow of life certainly also are present in the well-known Ecclesiastes passage that is the First Lesson for New Year's Day.
The Light of the World
by Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 60:1-6 [Epiphany Sunday]; Luke 2:22-40 [First Sunday after Christmas]; Matthew 25:31-46 [New Year's Day]
On the morning of January 4, 2012, between 2:00 a.m. and dawn, the Quadrantrid meteor shower will occur -- and we in North America will be able to count the meteorites as they fall. The peak activity, about 100 per hour, is predicted to occur for 30 minutes on either side of 4:00 a.m. and can be seen just below the handle of the Big Dipper. If there are no clouds and you go to a place that is very dark, you'll be able to see them.
Many people will miss the show, however, because most places aren't dark at night any more. Street lights, security lights, safety lights, neon signs, headlights, airport lights, city lights -- all make real darkness a rarity for most people. If you want to see the Quadrantrids, you may have to drive to a very rural venue far from even the smallest village to get away from the light.
Light is, for twenty-first-century western humanity, ubiquitous.
Not so when the Bible was being written and compiled. Back then, once the sun went down darkness closed in and enveloped people like a pall. The only weapon to keep it at bay was the flame of an oil lamp or a candle.
Small wonder that light became such an important symbol for those early People of God -- it was savior, protector, and provider. And when they looked around for a metaphor to describe the messiah, light was one of the first and best they lit upon.
And it still is.
THE WORLD
Light did not come alone, in the ancient world. It had many roles and brought with it no small amount of baggage -- some good and helpful, some a price that had to be paid for the blessing of light. This continues to be true of the existential reality that we call light. And it is also true of light as a metaphor.
Light was savior and protector. It pushed back the darkness where thieves and highwaymen, snakes and scorpions lurked. It revealed the dangers and pitfalls and made life safe.
The light that is Jesus also reveals the snakes and scorpions among us, whether they reside in Washington DC or on Wall Street, whether they speak through an op-ed column, a radio microphone, or a pulpit.
Jesus also illuminates those pitfalls and obstacles that keep us separated from God and each other -- our reliance on things, our faith in the financial, our pride in achievement, our reluctance to love and trust.
Light was also revealer. When you enter a dark room and turn on the light, you see the room as it really is. You see the threadbare carpet, the cracks in the plaster, the dust on the mantel, and the cobwebs in the corners.
The light and grace of Jesus shows us the world as it really is. Our illusions and fantasies flee away and we see ourselves and each other as we really are. We realize that we are flawed and fragile and that every human institution -- political, civil, religious -- is tragically flawed and in need of grace.
Light was heat. For primitive and ancient people, light was inseparably linked to heat -- a blessing in winter and a curse in summer. Candles burn at 1000 degrees, oil lamps even hotter. The light that illuminates, reveals, and protects us also keeps us warm... whether we need it to or not.
The light that is Jesus Christ brings heat to our moral and spiritual lives as well. We cannot enjoy and celebrate his light without suffering his heat as well...
* ... when we hear him say "love your enemies" and we buy guns instead.
* ... when we hear him say "sell all you have and give it to the poor" and we amass fortunes for ourselves instead.
* ... when we hear him say "make disciples" and we hunker down in our comfortable pews and make worship about our own needs instead.
THE WORD
Light, to the early church, was life. As light was life to the physical existence of humankind, so Jesus was the light and life to the moral/spiritual existence of humankind (cf. John 1:1-5).
It is Jesus, the light of the world, who illuminates, exposes, saves, protects, reveals, warms, and nourishes our lives, giving them not just existence but rich, robust, bold, authentic life. It is Jesus who fulfills the prophecy that Isaiah preached to the exiles in Babylon some 500 years earlier. His opening words are words of light: "Arise! Shine!" (Is this where we get the wake-up call "rise and shine"?) "Your light has come." This is not some random light from which you are allowed to benefit; it is your light, intended and made for you!
Darkness is to be expected. It covers the whole earth. People live in darkness but God's light shines on those whom God chooses. The result of this is that we become not just the recipients of light but the bearers of it as well. WE ARE light for the world. We receive light that we may be light.
The People of God, who have received God's light and grace in Jesus Christ, have become light for the whole world.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
On this Sunday, let the sanctuary be flooded with light as on no other. Fill the worship center with plenteous candles of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Invite people to bring candles to worship and set them all in the chancel or on the worship table. (By placing aluminum foil on the table under the candles you can protect the table from wax and create a really cool effect as the foil reflects the light of the flames.) Some churches like to find ways to reuse the candles that were used for the Christmas Eve service. However you do it, let candles be a constant, physical illustration of your sermon.
Indicative
The indicative can be no clearer than the first verse of Isaiah's poem: "Your light has come and the glory (light) of the Lord has risen upon you."
The good news that was proclaimed on Christmas Eve is now unwrapped and unpacked for the new year. The implications implicit in this rich symbol are brought out and put on display for all of us to consider. Jesus as light, and light as revealer, illuminator, savior, protector, warmer, and life giver are all explored and examined in both their existential and spiritual depth.
Imperative
Again, Isaiah makes it simple. His first two words provide our imperative: "Arise! Shine!"
Because we are receivers of light we are also called to be light. We are called to be revealers, illuminators, saviors, protectors, warmers, and life givers to all who live in darkness.
ANOTHER VIEW
On Being Wise
by George Reed
Matthew 2:1-12
Those magic men, the Magi,
Some people call them wise
Or Oriental, even kings,
Well, anyway, those guys...
-- James Taylor, "Home by Another Way"
The visitors to the baby Jesus in Luke's gospel are shepherds -- lowly and rejected by others but blessed by God with the angelic visitation announcing the birth of the Messiah. In Matthew's gospel the visitors seem at first to be of a higher class -- but then we realize that they are Gentiles! To observant Jews, these people are as unacceptable as Luke's folks. But if we can get past their classification as not God's people, we find that the wise men have a lot to teach us about God and God's way.
First of all, these folks have a clear vision and are willing to act on it. The story is told based on the folklore that when a star rises (a shooting star) a king or mighty person is born, and when a star sets (a falling star) a person of this ilk dies. (Forget our knowledge of these as meteors whose designation as falling or rising is only based on our location when viewing them. Go with the lore to understand the story.) The Magi have seen a great rising star and they know it must be a mighty king who has been born, and they want to greet him.
They pack up their belongings (and probably their entire clans) and head out to follow that star. (No wonder all Jerusalem was frightened when they arrived!) The star remaining in the sky for such a long time is confirmation that this is a really important birth. They travel for two years after the star. Talk about folks being focused and dedicated to their mission! They finally arrive in Palestine and conclude that it is a new king of the Jews who must have been born. Based on their joy when they rediscover the star upon leaving Jerusalem, it is a justifiable conclusion that they had lost sight of it on entering the city. They may have decided this must be the location and thought they didn't need the star anymore. They must have thought: "If it is the king of the Jews, we just need to enter Jerusalem and see the son of the current king."
When they get to Jerusalem, however, they discover that they were mistaken. The Jews were expecting a new king, but it wasn't the current king's son. According to their sages, he wouldn't even have been born in Jerusalem. Yet the visitors are undaunted. They don't sit around blaming each other and they don't give up their quest. They have merely made a wrong turn. So they readjust their plans and look once again for the guiding star, their purpose, their mission -- and it is still there... and they follow it with joy. And lo and behold, it takes them where they need to be. They find Mary and her two-year-old toddler living in a house in Bethlehem and they worship him and leave their gifts.
God is not done with them! Now they have a new mission. They must go home by another way. There is evil afoot and they are the ones who must act or be used by it to destroy what they have sought so long. May God grant that we and our congregations can be wise like these visitors.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Many Hollywood movie premieres are accompanied by massive searchlights rotating across the sky. Such lights are also used for tradeshows, award ceremonies, and store openings. They attempt to make an event seem important; yet all they're doing is advertising in order to attract people to spend money.
In Isaiah 60, the Lord's words about light carry a message contrary to our culture's evaluation of what's interesting or serious. The word arrives about a light that's a symbol of God's action on the people's behalf. God doesn't come to take something from them but to give something to them; and God's concern will be "seen" in the ransom of the weak. God's concern will "show up" in the exiles' return. And in response to such mercy the recipients will "be radiant." All this is symbolized by God's light.
* * *
Underneath the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem -- an ancient church built over the legendary site of Jesus' birth -- there is a cave. Visitors to the church climb down underneath and enter. In the cave they find lamps perpetually burning, filling the cavern with light.
Pilgrims cannot walk upright into this cave; the doorway is too small. To enter the cave of the nativity, you must bend almost to the waist. It's a fitting symbol -- Christians must bow in humility if we are to come to Jesus. We need that prayer of confession, the admission that we cannot defeat the darkness.
When we come in such a way, we do not find condemnation. God ushers us in to the place where we can meet the divine Son and worship the Christ with our very lives.
* * *
"One if by land and two if by sea." With those words the patriots agreed on the signal to be given from the old church tower, a signal that would tell Paul Revere which route the British troops would take. He sat astride his horse watching, waiting for a light in the darkness to bring him the news he required to warn his countrymen. Though technology now precludes their necessity, for decade upon decade dedicated souls tended the lights that shone through the darkest of nights to warn mariners of dangerous reefs and rocky shores. Without the guiding beacon from lighthouses, countless lives might well have been lost at sea. Technology now provides satellites for navigation and communication on land and sea and in the air. But for centuries prior to ours, travelers depended on the stars to help them find their way -- little tiny lights in the vast sea of the night sky. Signal lanterns in a church tower, warning beacons from many shores, guiding stars in a midnight sky: all depended on darkness to make them visible. Perhaps that is the gift of darkness in our lives, to help focus our attention and make us aware of the Light of the World.
* * *
Is it possible to be a source of light and not even know that you are a possibility of illumination to others about you? Isaiah says, "Arise, shine." A lamp is a source of light but it must be turned on before it can light up a dark area. Isaiah says, "Your light has come" -- and that is the source within us. When we manifest the light of God from within us, others will eventually be attracted not so much to us, but to the source of our illumination. That is what happened when Jesus came into this world and we are reflectors of that pure light.
* * *
In her acceptance speech for the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa proclaimed the power of humility. She began by referencing Jesus' dictate from Matthew 25: "I was hungry -- I was naked -- I was homeless -- I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for -- and you did it to me." She followed: "And I think that we in our family don't need bombs and guns to destroy, to bring peace -- just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that presence of each other into the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world."
May we understand the words and ministry of Mother Teresa and make it our own. We may sincerely say, for a lack of comprehension, "When was it that we saw you..." This is because we have developed the spiritual eyes to see and a heart to feel. Let us begin the New Year focusing on our ability to see and feel.
* * *
"What if God were one of us?" Joan Osborne asked in a song, "just like one of us?" When the song was released it stirred up a tempest of criticism because some people thought it was disrespecting God. Well, all the song is saying is exactly what the gospels say: that in the babe of Bethlehem God was one of us -- just an ordinary person, not a superman. A child whose coming was announced by singing, not by thunder. A child who was born by flickering lamplight in a silent night rather than in a volcanic explosion or a meteorite falling to earth. In Jesus Christ, the mighty word that echoed through the silent stillness before creation becomes a child cradled in his mother's arms... a child who comes to bless us, not to hurt us; a child who comes to save us, not to condemn us.
* * *
Although the scribes could say where the Messiah should be born, they remained quite unperturbed in Jerusalem. They did not accompany the wise men to seek him. Similarly, one may know the whole of Christianity, yet make no movement. What a difference! The three kings had only a rumor to go by. But it moved them to make that long journey. The scribes were much better informed. They sat and studied the scriptures like so many scholars, but it did not make them move. Who had more truth? The three kings who followed a rumor or the scribes who remained seated with all their knowledge?
-- Soren Kierkegaard, "Becoming Christian," in Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard (Orbis, 2003), p. 238
* * *
Hippocrates (c. 460 BCE-c. 370 BCE) is considered the Father of Medicine. He tried to dispel the myth that illness was not punishment inflicted by supernatural or divine forces and posited instead that disease was a result of environmental factors. He wrote the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of seventy medical essays. The most notable article is the Hippocratic Oath, which addresses the ethical practice of medicine and features the often-quoted line: "The regimen I adopt shall be for the benefit of the patients to the best of my power and judgment, not for their injury or for any wrongful purpose."
There is a season for everything, some good and some bad. But what is always in season and what will end the despair of the preacher of Ecclesiastes if we are persistent is our vow to do no harm to anyone, be it emotional or physical.
* * *
I had a very pleasant family physician when I was living in Erie, Pennsylvania. I went to his office to have a small growth removed by electric needle. He came into the examining room and as was his practice sat and conversed for a few minutes. He then got up from his stool and took my blood pressure, checked my temperature, then my reflexes, and continued to systematically examine all the significant parts of my anatomy. I felt as if I was having a yearly physical, but instead was transfixed by the thoroughness of his preparation for what was seemingly such a benign and routine procedure. He then sat down, we spoke for a few minutes, and then he pronounced me to be in perfect health. As he was getting up to leave I asked him when he was going to perform the procedure for which I made the appointment. He looked at me inquisitively, studied his chart, and realized the appointment was not for a scheduled physical. Somewhere between checking my ears and hammering my kneecaps I should have inquired what he was about. But like most people, we hold physicians in such high esteem that silence is our usual course of action.
Physicians, from the earliest records in recorded history, have been individuals of respect. The pedestal on which we place them is acceptable, considering the skill and knowledge required to be a healer.
The Son of Man came as a healer to those who lived persecuted lives, for those who were sick, and for all who remained faithful. This is why John was able to look up and make a confession for all of us when he said, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth...."
-- Ron Love
* * *
In the New Testament the word for salvation is soteria. Originally it was a secular word used by the Greeks to denote health, safety, security. In Greek mythology Soteria was the daughter of Zeus, the ruler of all gods. She was the personification of safety, recovery, and deliverance. Her image could only be looked upon by the priests. The word soteria took on theological significance when it was used to inquire about the welfare of one's soul. Combined with the Latin, we derive the word "salvation."
It was into this cultural milieu of Judaism that Jesus came that we may know that God is not found in the dictates of the Law, but in the Spirit of one's heart and soul. It is, according to Paul, "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' "
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O God, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
People: You have set your glory above the heavens.
Leader: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
People: the moon and the stars that you have established;
Leader: what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
People: mortals that you care for them?
Leader: Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
People: and crowned them with glory and honor.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the light-maker, the light-bringer.
People: We come that we may have light for our path.
Leader: The light shows the path but also the one who walks on it.
People: Will it show both the good and the bad in us?
Leader: Only by seeing both can we see the path we need to take.
People: We will trust God. Let the light of God shine on us!
Hymns and Sacred Songs
Note: This being the First Sunday after Christmas Day (the Eighth Day of Christmas), any Christmas carol would be appropriate unless one is celebrating Epiphany Sunday. In that case, "We Three Kings," "Go Tell It on the Mountain," or any carol dealing with the Magi would be fitting.
"There's a Song in the Air"
found in:
UMH: 249
CH: 159
"O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright" / "How Brightly Shines the Morning Star"
found in:
UMH: 247
H82: 496/497
PH: 69
NCH: 158
CH: 105
LBW: 76
ELW: 308
"I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light"
found in:
UMH: 206
H82: 490
ELW: 815
Renew: 152
"Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light"
found in:
UMH: 223
H82: 91
PH: 26
NCH: 140
"Christ Is the World's Light"
found in:
UMH: 188
"O Gladsome Light" (traditionally used at Evening Prayer)
found in:
UMH: 686
H82: 36
PH: 549
LBW: 279
"Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies"
found in:
UMH: 173
H82: 6/7
PH: 462/463
LBW: 265
ELW: 553
"We Three Kings"
found in:
UMH: 254
H82: 128
PH: 66
AAHH: 218
NNBH: 97
CH: 172
"Arise, Shine"
found in:
CCB: 2
Renew: 123
"From the Rising of the Sun"
found in:
CCB: 4
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who brings light out of darkness and order out of chaos: Grant us the grace to allow your light to shine on us so that we may truly know ourselves and then truly follow our Savior; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to celebrate your light, O God, which shines in the darkness forever and ever. We know of its power to reveal and to convict of sin. We come in fear and hope, trusting in your loving kindness. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways in which we try to manipulate God's light.
People: We confess to you, O God and before one another that we have sinned. We want your light to shine on us and show us at our best. We want your light to reveal the sin in others. We think this makes us look good by making us look better. Yet we know this is a lie. We are no better than the other sinners around us. Forgive us and so fill us with your light and Spirit that we may accept our faults and love others in theirs. Amen.
Leader: God's light is always meant for our healing. Sometimes it is uncomfortable for us to see ourselves as God sees us, but God always looks at us in love.
Prayer for Illumination
Send the light of your presence upon us, O God, so that in the reading and proclaiming of your good news we may be open to the truth about you and about ourselves so that we may be true disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We worship and adore you, O God, for you are light and in you there is no darkness at all.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We want your light to shine on us and show us at our best. We want your light to reveal the sin in others. We think this makes us look good by making us look better. Yet we know this is a lie. We are no better than the other sinners around us. Forgive us and so fill us with your light and Spirit that we may accept our faults and love others in theirs.
We thank you for the light that you shine upon our path so that we may see the way we need to go. We thank you for scripture and our place in the church where we can be honest with one another, confessing our faults and finding forgiveness and direction for our lives.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all of us in the darkness of our lives. Although we are made in your image, we allow sin to darken us and block your light. Sometimes the sin of others casts a dark shadow on our lives. Sometimes our sin casts a shadow on theirs. Help us all to see your light in the midst of all the darkness, trusting that your light shall be victorious.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
This is one of my favorite object lessons for children's time. Take a kaleidoscope and as you look through it comment on the beautiful colors and shapes you see. Ask the children if they would like to have a look. As you hold the kaleidoscope for them, make sure to cover the end so that no light enters. As they look into the kaleidoscope, ask them if they see how pretty it is. Some of the children will probably catch on before you get all the way around. When that happens or when everyone has looked into the kaleidoscope, tell them what you did and talk about how the beauty only shows if we let the light in. The same is true for our lives. Only as we let the light of God shine in our lives can our true beauty be seen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Good Vision
Luke 2:22-40
Object: binoculars or a telescope
(hold up the binoculars or telescope) Good morning, boys and girls! With the help of this I can see things far off and see them as if they were up close. It helps me see more than my eyes can usually see.
Many years ago there were some people in the temple where Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus. They also could see more than most eyes could see. They didn't have binoculars but they had God's spirit that helped them see beyond the present. They could see into the future! Can you imagine that? What if we had something that could help us see into the future? (let the children answer) These people in the temple could see into the future, and they told Mary and Joseph about Jesus. They told about what he would be when he grew up to be a man.
Does anybody know the name of the two people who were in the temple the day Mary and Joseph brought Jesus? (let them answer) The man's name was Simeon and the woman's name was Anna. Simeon and Anna were prophets who could see how God would use Jesus in the future to bring people to God. God had given them the special gift of being able to see the future.
I cannot see into the future like Simeon and Anna, but I can look through my binoculars [telescope] of faith and see some things about you. (Look at each child through the binoculars or telescope. If there are too many children and it might be time-consuming to do this for each child, stand off and look at the whole group of children.) When I look through the eyes of my faith and see the future, I see that God is always with you. I see that you have been called by God and that God knows each of you by name. I see that God has a special purpose for each of you. I see that God loves you very, very much.
It is a wonderful thing to be a child of God. I am thankful that each of you knows God and that your future is in God's hands. Sometime when you think you are alone, just remember that God is with you. Sometime when you are not sure about what might happen in the future, just remember that God is there in your future. I know that is true. I have seen it myself. God is with you.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for keeping us and loving us forever. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, January 1, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2011 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
As Dean notes, light was an especially powerful image in biblical times -- but while we take our many artificial sources of light for granted these days, light is still a powerful image for us. Though we've created "light pollution" that makes it difficult to observe natural phenomena, light still is our preferred metaphor for describing illumination and the clarity it brings to human motives and behavior. (Think of the adage that "sunlight is the greatest disinfectant," for example.) The vast number and power of the artificial lights we've created may overwhelm natural light at times -- but as Dean reminds us, there is no more powerful light for and in our lives than the Light of the World.
Team member George Reed offers some additional thoughts on the story of the Magi and their trip to visit the new king of the Jews. We commonly refer to them as the "wise men" -- and George identifies several traits that demonstrate their wisdom: their clarity of dedication to a mission, their motivation to act on it, and most of all their ability to adjust their expectations and keep "their eyes on the prize" as they cope with the inevitable curveballs that life tosses in their path. George notes that we could learn a great deal from them about being wise in the ways of God and being open to where God leads us. While George draws on the Epiphany story, the themes of wisdom and adjusting our actions to the flow of life certainly also are present in the well-known Ecclesiastes passage that is the First Lesson for New Year's Day.
The Light of the World
by Dean Feldmeyer
Isaiah 60:1-6 [Epiphany Sunday]; Luke 2:22-40 [First Sunday after Christmas]; Matthew 25:31-46 [New Year's Day]
On the morning of January 4, 2012, between 2:00 a.m. and dawn, the Quadrantrid meteor shower will occur -- and we in North America will be able to count the meteorites as they fall. The peak activity, about 100 per hour, is predicted to occur for 30 minutes on either side of 4:00 a.m. and can be seen just below the handle of the Big Dipper. If there are no clouds and you go to a place that is very dark, you'll be able to see them.
Many people will miss the show, however, because most places aren't dark at night any more. Street lights, security lights, safety lights, neon signs, headlights, airport lights, city lights -- all make real darkness a rarity for most people. If you want to see the Quadrantrids, you may have to drive to a very rural venue far from even the smallest village to get away from the light.
Light is, for twenty-first-century western humanity, ubiquitous.
Not so when the Bible was being written and compiled. Back then, once the sun went down darkness closed in and enveloped people like a pall. The only weapon to keep it at bay was the flame of an oil lamp or a candle.
Small wonder that light became such an important symbol for those early People of God -- it was savior, protector, and provider. And when they looked around for a metaphor to describe the messiah, light was one of the first and best they lit upon.
And it still is.
THE WORLD
Light did not come alone, in the ancient world. It had many roles and brought with it no small amount of baggage -- some good and helpful, some a price that had to be paid for the blessing of light. This continues to be true of the existential reality that we call light. And it is also true of light as a metaphor.
Light was savior and protector. It pushed back the darkness where thieves and highwaymen, snakes and scorpions lurked. It revealed the dangers and pitfalls and made life safe.
The light that is Jesus also reveals the snakes and scorpions among us, whether they reside in Washington DC or on Wall Street, whether they speak through an op-ed column, a radio microphone, or a pulpit.
Jesus also illuminates those pitfalls and obstacles that keep us separated from God and each other -- our reliance on things, our faith in the financial, our pride in achievement, our reluctance to love and trust.
Light was also revealer. When you enter a dark room and turn on the light, you see the room as it really is. You see the threadbare carpet, the cracks in the plaster, the dust on the mantel, and the cobwebs in the corners.
The light and grace of Jesus shows us the world as it really is. Our illusions and fantasies flee away and we see ourselves and each other as we really are. We realize that we are flawed and fragile and that every human institution -- political, civil, religious -- is tragically flawed and in need of grace.
Light was heat. For primitive and ancient people, light was inseparably linked to heat -- a blessing in winter and a curse in summer. Candles burn at 1000 degrees, oil lamps even hotter. The light that illuminates, reveals, and protects us also keeps us warm... whether we need it to or not.
The light that is Jesus Christ brings heat to our moral and spiritual lives as well. We cannot enjoy and celebrate his light without suffering his heat as well...
* ... when we hear him say "love your enemies" and we buy guns instead.
* ... when we hear him say "sell all you have and give it to the poor" and we amass fortunes for ourselves instead.
* ... when we hear him say "make disciples" and we hunker down in our comfortable pews and make worship about our own needs instead.
THE WORD
Light, to the early church, was life. As light was life to the physical existence of humankind, so Jesus was the light and life to the moral/spiritual existence of humankind (cf. John 1:1-5).
It is Jesus, the light of the world, who illuminates, exposes, saves, protects, reveals, warms, and nourishes our lives, giving them not just existence but rich, robust, bold, authentic life. It is Jesus who fulfills the prophecy that Isaiah preached to the exiles in Babylon some 500 years earlier. His opening words are words of light: "Arise! Shine!" (Is this where we get the wake-up call "rise and shine"?) "Your light has come." This is not some random light from which you are allowed to benefit; it is your light, intended and made for you!
Darkness is to be expected. It covers the whole earth. People live in darkness but God's light shines on those whom God chooses. The result of this is that we become not just the recipients of light but the bearers of it as well. WE ARE light for the world. We receive light that we may be light.
The People of God, who have received God's light and grace in Jesus Christ, have become light for the whole world.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
On this Sunday, let the sanctuary be flooded with light as on no other. Fill the worship center with plenteous candles of all sizes, shapes, and colors. Invite people to bring candles to worship and set them all in the chancel or on the worship table. (By placing aluminum foil on the table under the candles you can protect the table from wax and create a really cool effect as the foil reflects the light of the flames.) Some churches like to find ways to reuse the candles that were used for the Christmas Eve service. However you do it, let candles be a constant, physical illustration of your sermon.
Indicative
The indicative can be no clearer than the first verse of Isaiah's poem: "Your light has come and the glory (light) of the Lord has risen upon you."
The good news that was proclaimed on Christmas Eve is now unwrapped and unpacked for the new year. The implications implicit in this rich symbol are brought out and put on display for all of us to consider. Jesus as light, and light as revealer, illuminator, savior, protector, warmer, and life giver are all explored and examined in both their existential and spiritual depth.
Imperative
Again, Isaiah makes it simple. His first two words provide our imperative: "Arise! Shine!"
Because we are receivers of light we are also called to be light. We are called to be revealers, illuminators, saviors, protectors, warmers, and life givers to all who live in darkness.
ANOTHER VIEW
On Being Wise
by George Reed
Matthew 2:1-12
Those magic men, the Magi,
Some people call them wise
Or Oriental, even kings,
Well, anyway, those guys...
-- James Taylor, "Home by Another Way"
The visitors to the baby Jesus in Luke's gospel are shepherds -- lowly and rejected by others but blessed by God with the angelic visitation announcing the birth of the Messiah. In Matthew's gospel the visitors seem at first to be of a higher class -- but then we realize that they are Gentiles! To observant Jews, these people are as unacceptable as Luke's folks. But if we can get past their classification as not God's people, we find that the wise men have a lot to teach us about God and God's way.
First of all, these folks have a clear vision and are willing to act on it. The story is told based on the folklore that when a star rises (a shooting star) a king or mighty person is born, and when a star sets (a falling star) a person of this ilk dies. (Forget our knowledge of these as meteors whose designation as falling or rising is only based on our location when viewing them. Go with the lore to understand the story.) The Magi have seen a great rising star and they know it must be a mighty king who has been born, and they want to greet him.
They pack up their belongings (and probably their entire clans) and head out to follow that star. (No wonder all Jerusalem was frightened when they arrived!) The star remaining in the sky for such a long time is confirmation that this is a really important birth. They travel for two years after the star. Talk about folks being focused and dedicated to their mission! They finally arrive in Palestine and conclude that it is a new king of the Jews who must have been born. Based on their joy when they rediscover the star upon leaving Jerusalem, it is a justifiable conclusion that they had lost sight of it on entering the city. They may have decided this must be the location and thought they didn't need the star anymore. They must have thought: "If it is the king of the Jews, we just need to enter Jerusalem and see the son of the current king."
When they get to Jerusalem, however, they discover that they were mistaken. The Jews were expecting a new king, but it wasn't the current king's son. According to their sages, he wouldn't even have been born in Jerusalem. Yet the visitors are undaunted. They don't sit around blaming each other and they don't give up their quest. They have merely made a wrong turn. So they readjust their plans and look once again for the guiding star, their purpose, their mission -- and it is still there... and they follow it with joy. And lo and behold, it takes them where they need to be. They find Mary and her two-year-old toddler living in a house in Bethlehem and they worship him and leave their gifts.
God is not done with them! Now they have a new mission. They must go home by another way. There is evil afoot and they are the ones who must act or be used by it to destroy what they have sought so long. May God grant that we and our congregations can be wise like these visitors.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Many Hollywood movie premieres are accompanied by massive searchlights rotating across the sky. Such lights are also used for tradeshows, award ceremonies, and store openings. They attempt to make an event seem important; yet all they're doing is advertising in order to attract people to spend money.
In Isaiah 60, the Lord's words about light carry a message contrary to our culture's evaluation of what's interesting or serious. The word arrives about a light that's a symbol of God's action on the people's behalf. God doesn't come to take something from them but to give something to them; and God's concern will be "seen" in the ransom of the weak. God's concern will "show up" in the exiles' return. And in response to such mercy the recipients will "be radiant." All this is symbolized by God's light.
* * *
Underneath the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem -- an ancient church built over the legendary site of Jesus' birth -- there is a cave. Visitors to the church climb down underneath and enter. In the cave they find lamps perpetually burning, filling the cavern with light.
Pilgrims cannot walk upright into this cave; the doorway is too small. To enter the cave of the nativity, you must bend almost to the waist. It's a fitting symbol -- Christians must bow in humility if we are to come to Jesus. We need that prayer of confession, the admission that we cannot defeat the darkness.
When we come in such a way, we do not find condemnation. God ushers us in to the place where we can meet the divine Son and worship the Christ with our very lives.
* * *
"One if by land and two if by sea." With those words the patriots agreed on the signal to be given from the old church tower, a signal that would tell Paul Revere which route the British troops would take. He sat astride his horse watching, waiting for a light in the darkness to bring him the news he required to warn his countrymen. Though technology now precludes their necessity, for decade upon decade dedicated souls tended the lights that shone through the darkest of nights to warn mariners of dangerous reefs and rocky shores. Without the guiding beacon from lighthouses, countless lives might well have been lost at sea. Technology now provides satellites for navigation and communication on land and sea and in the air. But for centuries prior to ours, travelers depended on the stars to help them find their way -- little tiny lights in the vast sea of the night sky. Signal lanterns in a church tower, warning beacons from many shores, guiding stars in a midnight sky: all depended on darkness to make them visible. Perhaps that is the gift of darkness in our lives, to help focus our attention and make us aware of the Light of the World.
* * *
Is it possible to be a source of light and not even know that you are a possibility of illumination to others about you? Isaiah says, "Arise, shine." A lamp is a source of light but it must be turned on before it can light up a dark area. Isaiah says, "Your light has come" -- and that is the source within us. When we manifest the light of God from within us, others will eventually be attracted not so much to us, but to the source of our illumination. That is what happened when Jesus came into this world and we are reflectors of that pure light.
* * *
In her acceptance speech for the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, Mother Teresa proclaimed the power of humility. She began by referencing Jesus' dictate from Matthew 25: "I was hungry -- I was naked -- I was homeless -- I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for -- and you did it to me." She followed: "And I think that we in our family don't need bombs and guns to destroy, to bring peace -- just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that presence of each other into the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world."
May we understand the words and ministry of Mother Teresa and make it our own. We may sincerely say, for a lack of comprehension, "When was it that we saw you..." This is because we have developed the spiritual eyes to see and a heart to feel. Let us begin the New Year focusing on our ability to see and feel.
* * *
"What if God were one of us?" Joan Osborne asked in a song, "just like one of us?" When the song was released it stirred up a tempest of criticism because some people thought it was disrespecting God. Well, all the song is saying is exactly what the gospels say: that in the babe of Bethlehem God was one of us -- just an ordinary person, not a superman. A child whose coming was announced by singing, not by thunder. A child who was born by flickering lamplight in a silent night rather than in a volcanic explosion or a meteorite falling to earth. In Jesus Christ, the mighty word that echoed through the silent stillness before creation becomes a child cradled in his mother's arms... a child who comes to bless us, not to hurt us; a child who comes to save us, not to condemn us.
* * *
Although the scribes could say where the Messiah should be born, they remained quite unperturbed in Jerusalem. They did not accompany the wise men to seek him. Similarly, one may know the whole of Christianity, yet make no movement. What a difference! The three kings had only a rumor to go by. But it moved them to make that long journey. The scribes were much better informed. They sat and studied the scriptures like so many scholars, but it did not make them move. Who had more truth? The three kings who followed a rumor or the scribes who remained seated with all their knowledge?
-- Soren Kierkegaard, "Becoming Christian," in Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard (Orbis, 2003), p. 238
* * *
Hippocrates (c. 460 BCE-c. 370 BCE) is considered the Father of Medicine. He tried to dispel the myth that illness was not punishment inflicted by supernatural or divine forces and posited instead that disease was a result of environmental factors. He wrote the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of seventy medical essays. The most notable article is the Hippocratic Oath, which addresses the ethical practice of medicine and features the often-quoted line: "The regimen I adopt shall be for the benefit of the patients to the best of my power and judgment, not for their injury or for any wrongful purpose."
There is a season for everything, some good and some bad. But what is always in season and what will end the despair of the preacher of Ecclesiastes if we are persistent is our vow to do no harm to anyone, be it emotional or physical.
* * *
I had a very pleasant family physician when I was living in Erie, Pennsylvania. I went to his office to have a small growth removed by electric needle. He came into the examining room and as was his practice sat and conversed for a few minutes. He then got up from his stool and took my blood pressure, checked my temperature, then my reflexes, and continued to systematically examine all the significant parts of my anatomy. I felt as if I was having a yearly physical, but instead was transfixed by the thoroughness of his preparation for what was seemingly such a benign and routine procedure. He then sat down, we spoke for a few minutes, and then he pronounced me to be in perfect health. As he was getting up to leave I asked him when he was going to perform the procedure for which I made the appointment. He looked at me inquisitively, studied his chart, and realized the appointment was not for a scheduled physical. Somewhere between checking my ears and hammering my kneecaps I should have inquired what he was about. But like most people, we hold physicians in such high esteem that silence is our usual course of action.
Physicians, from the earliest records in recorded history, have been individuals of respect. The pedestal on which we place them is acceptable, considering the skill and knowledge required to be a healer.
The Son of Man came as a healer to those who lived persecuted lives, for those who were sick, and for all who remained faithful. This is why John was able to look up and make a confession for all of us when he said, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth...."
-- Ron Love
* * *
In the New Testament the word for salvation is soteria. Originally it was a secular word used by the Greeks to denote health, safety, security. In Greek mythology Soteria was the daughter of Zeus, the ruler of all gods. She was the personification of safety, recovery, and deliverance. Her image could only be looked upon by the priests. The word soteria took on theological significance when it was used to inquire about the welfare of one's soul. Combined with the Latin, we derive the word "salvation."
It was into this cultural milieu of Judaism that Jesus came that we may know that God is not found in the dictates of the Law, but in the Spirit of one's heart and soul. It is, according to Paul, "God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' "
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
Call to Worship
Leader: O God, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
People: You have set your glory above the heavens.
Leader: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
People: the moon and the stars that you have established;
Leader: what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
People: mortals that you care for them?
Leader: Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
People: and crowned them with glory and honor.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the light-maker, the light-bringer.
People: We come that we may have light for our path.
Leader: The light shows the path but also the one who walks on it.
People: Will it show both the good and the bad in us?
Leader: Only by seeing both can we see the path we need to take.
People: We will trust God. Let the light of God shine on us!
Hymns and Sacred Songs
Note: This being the First Sunday after Christmas Day (the Eighth Day of Christmas), any Christmas carol would be appropriate unless one is celebrating Epiphany Sunday. In that case, "We Three Kings," "Go Tell It on the Mountain," or any carol dealing with the Magi would be fitting.
"There's a Song in the Air"
found in:
UMH: 249
CH: 159
"O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright" / "How Brightly Shines the Morning Star"
found in:
UMH: 247
H82: 496/497
PH: 69
NCH: 158
CH: 105
LBW: 76
ELW: 308
"I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light"
found in:
UMH: 206
H82: 490
ELW: 815
Renew: 152
"Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light"
found in:
UMH: 223
H82: 91
PH: 26
NCH: 140
"Christ Is the World's Light"
found in:
UMH: 188
"O Gladsome Light" (traditionally used at Evening Prayer)
found in:
UMH: 686
H82: 36
PH: 549
LBW: 279
"Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies"
found in:
UMH: 173
H82: 6/7
PH: 462/463
LBW: 265
ELW: 553
"We Three Kings"
found in:
UMH: 254
H82: 128
PH: 66
AAHH: 218
NNBH: 97
CH: 172
"Arise, Shine"
found in:
CCB: 2
Renew: 123
"From the Rising of the Sun"
found in:
CCB: 4
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who brings light out of darkness and order out of chaos: Grant us the grace to allow your light to shine on us so that we may truly know ourselves and then truly follow our Savior; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to celebrate your light, O God, which shines in the darkness forever and ever. We know of its power to reveal and to convict of sin. We come in fear and hope, trusting in your loving kindness. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially the ways in which we try to manipulate God's light.
People: We confess to you, O God and before one another that we have sinned. We want your light to shine on us and show us at our best. We want your light to reveal the sin in others. We think this makes us look good by making us look better. Yet we know this is a lie. We are no better than the other sinners around us. Forgive us and so fill us with your light and Spirit that we may accept our faults and love others in theirs. Amen.
Leader: God's light is always meant for our healing. Sometimes it is uncomfortable for us to see ourselves as God sees us, but God always looks at us in love.
Prayer for Illumination
Send the light of your presence upon us, O God, so that in the reading and proclaiming of your good news we may be open to the truth about you and about ourselves so that we may be true disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We worship and adore you, O God, for you are light and in you there is no darkness at all.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We want your light to shine on us and show us at our best. We want your light to reveal the sin in others. We think this makes us look good by making us look better. Yet we know this is a lie. We are no better than the other sinners around us. Forgive us and so fill us with your light and Spirit that we may accept our faults and love others in theirs.
We thank you for the light that you shine upon our path so that we may see the way we need to go. We thank you for scripture and our place in the church where we can be honest with one another, confessing our faults and finding forgiveness and direction for our lives.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all of us in the darkness of our lives. Although we are made in your image, we allow sin to darken us and block your light. Sometimes the sin of others casts a dark shadow on our lives. Sometimes our sin casts a shadow on theirs. Help us all to see your light in the midst of all the darkness, trusting that your light shall be victorious.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
This is one of my favorite object lessons for children's time. Take a kaleidoscope and as you look through it comment on the beautiful colors and shapes you see. Ask the children if they would like to have a look. As you hold the kaleidoscope for them, make sure to cover the end so that no light enters. As they look into the kaleidoscope, ask them if they see how pretty it is. Some of the children will probably catch on before you get all the way around. When that happens or when everyone has looked into the kaleidoscope, tell them what you did and talk about how the beauty only shows if we let the light in. The same is true for our lives. Only as we let the light of God shine in our lives can our true beauty be seen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Good Vision
Luke 2:22-40
Object: binoculars or a telescope
(hold up the binoculars or telescope) Good morning, boys and girls! With the help of this I can see things far off and see them as if they were up close. It helps me see more than my eyes can usually see.
Many years ago there were some people in the temple where Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus. They also could see more than most eyes could see. They didn't have binoculars but they had God's spirit that helped them see beyond the present. They could see into the future! Can you imagine that? What if we had something that could help us see into the future? (let the children answer) These people in the temple could see into the future, and they told Mary and Joseph about Jesus. They told about what he would be when he grew up to be a man.
Does anybody know the name of the two people who were in the temple the day Mary and Joseph brought Jesus? (let them answer) The man's name was Simeon and the woman's name was Anna. Simeon and Anna were prophets who could see how God would use Jesus in the future to bring people to God. God had given them the special gift of being able to see the future.
I cannot see into the future like Simeon and Anna, but I can look through my binoculars [telescope] of faith and see some things about you. (Look at each child through the binoculars or telescope. If there are too many children and it might be time-consuming to do this for each child, stand off and look at the whole group of children.) When I look through the eyes of my faith and see the future, I see that God is always with you. I see that you have been called by God and that God knows each of you by name. I see that God has a special purpose for each of you. I see that God loves you very, very much.
It is a wonderful thing to be a child of God. I am thankful that each of you knows God and that your future is in God's hands. Sometime when you think you are alone, just remember that God is with you. Sometime when you are not sure about what might happen in the future, just remember that God is there in your future. I know that is true. I have seen it myself. God is with you.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for keeping us and loving us forever. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, January 1, 2012, issue.
Copyright 2011 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
