First Thoughts: Many of us are familiar with the sin of pride, of thinking too much of ourselves. A famous theologian argued that the sin of pride is only one part of the human struggle; the other part is the sin of hiding. The sin of hiding happens when we think too little of ourselves, when we claim we're not gifted and refuse to offer our best selves to the world. We might call it "humility" but that's a misuse of the word. Not only isn't it anything virtuous like humility, it is downright sinful! We can see this reflected in Jesus' instructions from Matthew. God hasn't put God's own light in us so that we hide it and claim it's not there, but so that we might bring it to the world. Reflect for a few moments on your own gifts. Is it easy for you to identify them or do you find yourself resistant? If it's a struggle for you to come up with any gifts, consider bringing that to God in prayer. After all, when Jesus said, "You are the light of the world," he was talking about you.
Teaching On Your Own: (holds flashlight with cap on) See what I have here? It is a flashlight. What do you use a flashlight for? You use it for getting around in the dark, right? Do you see anything wrong with this one? No light is coming out, is it? It's turned on, but I have a cap on the end so the light doesn't show. Now why would somebody have a flashlight on but cover up the end? Well, there are lots of reasons. Maybe I don't want to attract bugs, maybe a bad guy will see the light and know where I am, or maybe somebody will see the light and want to steal my flashlight. There are lots of reasons and maybe some of them are pretty good. But here's the thing: What's the purpose of a flashlight if you can't see the light? What good does it do? It reminds me of our scripture passage today.
Jesus tells his disciples that they are the light of the world. He said that you don't take a lamp and hide it under a basket; you put it on a stand so everyone can see it. God put God's light in us not so we would just keep it to ourselves, but so we could benefit the whole world. Maybe it's a bit scary for us to do that sometimes, but if we don't, we're really not much use to the world. Like this flashlight. If I keep it covered to keep it safe or to keep myself safe, it won't be any use to me or anyone else. Just like that flashlight can help people see things in the dark, the way we live -- our kindness, our compassion for others, our love -- can help people see who God really is in a dark world. I know what I have to do, right? (takes off cap) Here's the light. Time to let it shine!
Teaching As A Team:
(Leader 2 has the flashlight turned on but with the cap on it)
Leader 1: Hey, what do you have there?
Leader 2: It's a flashlight.
Leader 1: Let me see. (takes flashlight) It's turned on but there's no light coming out. Oh! I see, there's a cap blocking the light.
Leader 2: Right. I put that there.
Leader 1: But why?
Leader 2: There are lots of reasons. Like maybe I don't want to attract bugs, maybe a bad guy will see the light and know where I am, or maybe somebody will see the light and want to steal my flashlight. There are lots of reasons.
Leader 1: But what's the purpose of a flashlight if you can't see the light? What good does it do?
Leader 2: Hmmm. I don't really know.
Leader 1: This reminds me of our scripture passage today. Jesus tells his disciples that they are the light of the world. He said that you don't take a lamp and hide it under a basket; you put it on a stand so everyone can see it.
Leader 2: But that means... everybody would see it!
Leader 1: That's right. God put God's light in us not so we would just keep it to ourselves, but so we could benefit the whole world. Maybe it's a bit scary for us to do that sometimes, but if we don't we're not much use to the world.
Leader 2: Like this flashlight. If I keep it covered to keep it safe or to keep myself safe, it won't be any use to me or anyone else.
Leader 1: Right. Just like the flashlight can help people see things in the dark, the way we live -- our kindness, our compassion for others, our love -- can help people see who God really is in a dark world.
Leader 2: All right. (takes off cap) Here's the light. Let it shine!
Leader 1: Yes! Let it shine.
Closing Prayer: Loving God, help us to let our light shine in the world so our actions can help other people see the kind of loving God you are. Help us to be brave and kind even when it's scary, trusting that you will be with us every step of the way. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this message in a home or classroom environment, talk more about what it means to be a light on the hill. Explain that God has given each of us certain gifts so that we can do God's work in the world. Encourage the children to consider what those gifts might be. Be prepared to prompt them with different ideas for gifts: being calm and peaceful, being joyful, being brave and standing up for the right things, being creative, being a good friend, being smart and helping people understand things, knowing the right thing to do and helping others to do it. Ask them why they might want to hide these gifts. Maybe they're afraid of people rejecting their gifts, making fun of them, or being unkind in some other way. That's why it takes courage to be a Christian and to remember that even if people don't always receive our gifts well, God is still doing good with them.
Use this experiment to help illustrate the point: dim the lights and turn on the flashlight. Ask the children to observe what it's like when their eyes are open. They can see the light clearly and easily. That is what it's like when people receive and honor our gifts. Now invite the children to close their eyes. Take some time to shine the light in each child's face. Ask them what they observe now. Maybe they don't see the light clearly anymore, but it still shines through their eyelids, and they can probably feel it a little on their faces. That reminds us that even when people don't want our gifts and close their eyes to the light, it still gets through a little. God can still do good even then.
For a craft idea provide each child at least one star from the template, as well as some aluminum foil to cover the star. Using a marker, encourage each child to write a message of affirmation about their gift, like "I am funny" or "I am kind." Punch a hole in the top of the star and run a piece of yarn through the top to create a necklace for the child to wear. Observe that stars come out at night to make the darkness beautiful and hopeful. That's our job in the world: to be kind and loving when people feel really hopeless, to remind people that God's light is still there, and they don't have to be afraid. Close with prayer.
