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WE ARE THE LIGHT BEARERS
A sermon preached January 7, 2007 at University United Methodist Church, East
Lansing MI by John Ross Thompson
Scripture texts: Ephesians 3:1-12, Isaiah 60:1-6
The Magi, also know as the Wise Men are the ones we celebrate today. They were
following the light to find the light. Nowhere in the Bible does it say
that there were three of them. They were an unknown number of seekers who came
to find the light.
We all know that they presented three gifts to the Christ child.
In celebration of them and their search for the light, January 6 is Epiphany Day
and today is the first Sunday of the Epiphany season.
I’m noticing more and more that epiphany is used outside of the church context.
It means the light bulb moment, the time we realize that we know something, we
see something, we understand something that before was unknown.
It is an appropriate way to begin the New Year. In the Northern Hemisphere, near
the darkest time of the year, but as days are beginning to lengthen, the light
appears.
Today’s Isaiah text begins with an account of God’s self-revelation, and leads
to foretelling the coming from the East of people of wisdom. We think of the
ones to whom the light has come, and the ones who can see it and celebrate it
The Ephesians text is appropriate for this day because the coming of the Magi is
the first time non-Jews encountered Jesus. Christ appears not only for the Jews
but for the whole world. It also makes it clear that the coming of Jesus
produces enemies. Even good news brings out those who will resist. Hostility to
the truth is nothing new.
Epiphany is about the mystery of God’s will made known to everyone! I love a
mystery, and am drawn to it as something to explore, to dissect, to digest, to
challenge me
Ephesians 3:10 in the New Revised Standard Version says “Through the church the
wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known.”
Ephesians 3:10 in The Message is worded this way: “Through Christians
like yourselves
gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and
talked about!”
Colossians 1:26 calls it a mystery. “The mystery that has been hidden throughout
the
ages and generations has now been revealed to his saints.”
In Christ, the mystery becomes fully known. Darkness gives way to light,
hiddenness to openness, mystery to revelation, ignorance to knowledge.
The incredible news is that it is WE who are the ones who are to spread the
light!
Think of the ones who have been the “light-bearers” to you.
I must recall the life of Gerald Ford, whose death and funerals over the past
few days have captivated many of us, especially through our pride that he came
from Michigan. Despite political differences among us, almost everyone sees him
as a man of integrity, admirable Midwestern values, and quiet faith. He believed
deeply, but did not use his faith to political advantage. Now he rests just 75
miles from here, and a few miles in the other direction persons for years will
study his papers to determine the effect he had on this nation. I believe it was
out of his faith that he wanted to be a leader who would heal our nation after
Watergate.
This is an example of someone who used the light that came to him from God to
help others. In this Epiphany season, we can decide what kind of person we want
to be. The goal is to be someone who sees the light and spreads it. Each of us
can be someone who takes the light out of the church and makes a difference
where we are.
The image I have on Sundays when the worship service ends is that each of us
takes the light of Christmas and of Epiphany into the world. We can do it if we
resolve to bear the light.
We find the light through our commitment to the One who brings light
to the world. I’d like to end today with one of the most beautiful prayers of
commitment that has ever been written. John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer, in the
United Methodist Hymnal at number 607, is a release of ourselves into God’s
hands for the future. It was written specifically for the new year. Please pray
it with me.
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