Sunday, February 5, 2017: "Shining Our Light" Fr. Carey Stone


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 Epiphany 5A’17 (Candlemas transferred)

5 February 2017
Luke 2.22-40
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
North Little Rock, Arkansas
The Rev. Carey Stone
 
Let your light so shine before others, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Amen.   - From Matthew 5.16
 
Details are never wasted in the Bible; if it gives a detail there is almost always a reason for it. In the gospel today we learn that Jesus was brought to the temple on the eighth day after his birth. The purpose was the next step in his human journey – to be circumcised. It just so happens that the human body doesn’t start making vitamin k until after the eighth day of a baby’s life, vitamin k production is one of the requirements in order for our blood to clot – God’s a pretty good chemist! 
 
The number 8 in the Bible is the number for new beginnings, on the eighth day we start another work week, in music it is the beginning of a new octave, and it is traditional for baptismal fonts to have eight sides – it is the number of new beginnings and Jesus’ circumcision marked the beginning of the human journey of a Divine child – a child who was to become the Light of the World. 
 
In the liturgy of the church today is called Candlemas, where candles are blessed as they are symbols of the Christ who shines through the darkness. Into a world that was filled with darkness came the Light that would shine and not be overcome by it. There was political and social darkness as the oppressive policies of the Roman Empire cast a long shadow over the peoples, and the religious world had lost its way in a maze of religiosity with no clear purpose, adrift in a sea of darkness. 
 
Not much has changed in 2,000 years thus C.S. Lewis’ phrase “the myth of progress.” No matter how much insight is gained we human beings never seem to outgrow the human condition! The values of the kingdom are just as topsy-turvy today as they have been since Jesus first gave his sermon on the mount: Blessed are the poor, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. These values are quite counter to the message we are bombarded with by our society, it goes something like this: Blessed are the rich, blessed are the happy, blessed are the strong, blessed are you when you are warmed and satisfied, blessed are the shrewd of heart, blessed are the winners in the conflict, blessed are the popular for no one shall ever speak evil of you…that’s the darkness. 
 
Earlier in the service a liturgical movement happened that represented our leaving the darkness, when we each had to go up to the altar’s gate and receive a lighted and blessed candle. This was an outward and visible sign of our choice to inwardly identify with Christ as a child of the light, a child of God stepping out of darkness into light. This inward spiritual grace like other sacraments is manifested outwardly  in real and concrete ways, for Jesus’ journey is our journey – at our baptism we enter the life-long process of our conversion from a child of the darkness to becoming a child of the Light.
Our prayer book does a wonderful job of explaining religious concepts in real and concrete ways. Please take your prayer books and turn to p.847 and let’s see what walking as a child of the light looks like. See the third question, you will read the answers: 
 
Q: What is our duty to God? 
A: Our duty is to believe and trust in God.
 
I. To love and obey God and bring others to know him.
II. To put nothing in the place of God.
III. To show God respect in thought, word, and deed.
IV. And to set aside regular times for worship, prayer, and the study of God’s ways.
Q: What is our duty to our neighbors?
A: Our duty to our neighbors is to love them as ourselves, and to do to other people as we wish them to do to us;
 
V. To love, honor, and help our parents and family, to honor those in authority, and to meet their just demands.
VI. To show respect for the life God has given us; to work and pray for peace; to bear no malice, prejudice, or hatred in our hearts; and to be kind to all the creatures of God;
VII. To use all our bodily desires as God intended;
VIII. To be honest and fair in our dealings; to seek justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all people; and to use our talents and possessions as ones who must answer for them to God;
IX. To speak the truth, and not mislead others by our silence;
X. To resist temptations to envy, greed, and jealousy; to rejoice in other people’s gifts and graces; and to do our duty for the love of God, who has called us into fellowship with him. 
Wow! That’s a lot to take in – that’s a lot to take on!
Our journey from the darkness into the light will take a lifetime but it is the only journey really worth making. 
 
Dear brothers and sisters of St. Luke’s when we endeavor to live our lives based upon these very real and concrete principles of God’s kingdom, we become Good News of Christ’s kingdom to a hurting world! We become voices to share with all of those in our community who are Episcopalians but just don’t realize it yet! Our individual light may be small but all of our lights together – massive!
[light candle - sing]
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine
This little light of mine I’m gonna let it shine;
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine 
 
Hide it under a bushel – no, I’m gonna let it shine,
Hide it under a bushel  - no, I’m gonna let it shine;
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine…