Adjusting To The Light
Sermon
Hope Beneath the Surface
Cycle A First Lesson Sermons for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany
Object:
Everyone knows the experience of dragging out of bed on a dark morning in January, stepping around the busy humidifier spewing mucous membrane-healing moisture, finding the door to the bathroom and flipping the switch -- whoops, no, not that one, as the fan roars prematurely -- there, the light switch.
"Ouch!" we say or think, and the photons from Edison's folly crash against the reluctant retinas of our eyes. We are blinded. We have a fleeting bed wish, yet know that the time is nigh, and the pain must be borne, the face confronted, the sleepers removed, the "natural" beauty restored with soap and water, and the variety of applications applied that sometimes are required for troublesome corners of God's creation called "face."
Finally we realize that the squinting has subsided. But then when we return to the bedroom to turn off the belching humidifier, our retina and iris and brain are all put to work again, adjusting now to the absence of light, as they had only recently adjusted to its glaring presence.
This past Monday evening, the Administrative Board looked at a video that told about our Conference Apportionments and what they accomplish. We tried watching it with the lights on but then decided to turn them off, and indeed we were then able to see better. I remember thinking, as the lights went out, how pitch black the room was and how bright the screen was. In just a few moments, however, the room seemed downright lit up, both from the light in the hallway and the light from the television screen. Adjusting to the light; adjusting to the darkness.
Isaiah says in that marvelous ninth chapter words that bring up memories of Christmas Eve services and all that goes with them: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined" (9:2).
The prophet Isaiah, who spoke words of challenge and hope to the people of Israel eight centuries before Jesus was born, created a marvelous picture here, a powerful image. It spoke to the people of his day and it speaks to us in our day.
Darkness is a relative thing. Do you suppose that all the people of Israel felt that they were living in darkness? Or had they simply gotten used to the constant threat of foreign armies, the turmoil and meaninglessness of playing the harlot with other gods than the one who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, the God of Abraham and Sarah and David? Is it possible that there were those who heard these words and said to themselves, "Darkness? What darkness?"
Is that not what our nation has experienced? The joy of the World War II victory, then the Korean War victory, and the economy and standard of living began to crank up. Even churches were booming, people joining as fast as membership classes could be formed.
Who was aware of the darkness? Who noticed the shallow commitment when people joined our booming churches? Who noticed the racism which had become so institutionalized that to the haves it was invisible and to the ethnic minorities it was simply a way of life?
Darkness? What darkness? Sexual promiscuity was hidden but rampant, and married couples endured lifeless marriages, because divorce was too great a taboo to bear. Women had to fight for anything they could get, and men had to be men, strong, stoic, and alone. And congregations worshipped and sang and preachers preached waves and waves of words, but few got wet. Darkness? What darkness?
And today, while divorce for most is a reluctant, painful last resort, for many it is the first resort. Sexual promiscuity is out in the open, women are still fighting for equal recognition and pay, but are now privileged to get the same stress-related diseases as men. Youth have all the stimulation they want through videos and automobiles, and racism continues. And congregations worship and preachers preach and ... and what?
I'll tell you what. There really are those who are aware of the darkness. And there are those who have seen the great light. But it takes a long time to adjust to the light.
For years preachers preached about banning the bomb. And then, finally, prayers were answered, hearts were touched, and the problem now is what to do with all the plutonium from all of those bombs.
For years the church taught about the destructive power in lives and families of alcohol and drugs, but it was called naive and moralistic. Now it is nationwide news that leaders in schools are pledging with their students to use no drugs of any kind.
For years the church has preached the joys of sex, sex in the bonds of marriage, and people have laughed. Today the word abstinence before marriage is gaining ground, if even in small conclaves.
I believe that a society that has lived in darkness so long finds the light painful, for it has adjusted to the darkness. But over time, by God's grace and the gentle, persistent work of faithful Christians, people see the light, adjust to the light, and lives are changed.
There was a blooper headline seen in a Poughkeepsie newspaper: "Two Persons Hurt In Route 9 Crash -- Peekskill Woman Suffers Consciousness." Is it possible that our society might be suffering "consciousness"?
Back in the spring of 1992 a quote came out of Congress: "A balanced budget is only for the truly religious, for the balance to which it refers occurs only in the hereafter."
There are those who simply do not believe that God's Kingdom has a chance in this world, and, believe me, I have my days. But I do believe these words from Archbishop William Temple, written in 1930:
While we deliberate, God reigns; when we decide wisely, God reigns; when we decide foolishly, God reigns; when we serve God in humble loyalty, God reigns; when we serve God self-assertively, God reigns; when we rebel and seek to withhold our service, God reigns -- the Alpha and the Omega, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
(From Context, February 1, 1992)
It's a marvelous mystery, isn't it, that on the one hand God works in spite of us, and on the other hand we are central to the plan God has of bringing salvation and wholeness to our world. Jesus didn't call his disciples to go with him by saying, "Come with me so we can stand around and watch God do mighty things." No, Jesus said, "Come with me and we'll go fishing, only now we'll fish for people instead of food for the tummy."
Jesus made it clear that there are some specific things for men and women to do, ministries which God uses to do kingdom-building work: like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, aiding the poor, visiting those in prison, witnessing to everyone about God's love revealed in Jesus.
But for many in our society darkness prevails, as in Isaiah's day. Other gods than the Lord are being worshipped. Other ways of life than the way for which we are created are being followed.
Douglas Taylor-Weiss, rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Dayton, Ohio, has proposed a new set of Ten Commandments based on his observations of our culture. Here they are:
1. Have a good day.
2. Shop.
3. Eliminate pain.
4. Be up-to-date.
5. Relax.
6. Express yourself.
7. Have a happy family.
8. Be entertaining.
9. Be entertained.
10. Buy entertainment.
(Context, February 1, 1992)
The fact is that those 10 commandments don't bring joy and meaning over a lifetime. God's commandments do. But what you and I know through God's gift of Jesus is that what God wants is not just people fearfully carrying out all God's commandments. What God wants is for us to know that God loves us with an everlasting love, as Jeremiah reminded his people in chapter 31, verse 3. We learn through Jesus that before we will be able to follow God's commandments, we must know, we must be converted to the reality of how much the Giver of those commandments loves us.
It is up to the church, and not to anyone else, to be sure that our country, our society, your business, your schoolmates, your children and family all get exposed to the great light, the message of Jesus Christ, the message that we are loved by God. Then we graciously give time and opportunity to allow our society to adjust to the light, for the darkness in which we live is so deep, that the pain of the light can be too great to bear. I believe an awareness of that one fact will help to give us patience and gentleness in our Christian witness.
Some of that adjusting to the light, I believe, is already happening. In some places, in some cities, in some communities, in some schools, the bright truth of God's love and way of life that brings meaning and joy is coming to be seen through squinted eyes.
The church must not lose its courage to witness even when it takes decades for people to catch on, to adjust to the light. I am glad that I am a part of a movement that is so monumental, so vast, so cosmic, so all encompassing, that it cannot be accomplished in my lifetime, a movement that is nothing less than the salvation of the world.
"Ouch!" we say or think, and the photons from Edison's folly crash against the reluctant retinas of our eyes. We are blinded. We have a fleeting bed wish, yet know that the time is nigh, and the pain must be borne, the face confronted, the sleepers removed, the "natural" beauty restored with soap and water, and the variety of applications applied that sometimes are required for troublesome corners of God's creation called "face."
Finally we realize that the squinting has subsided. But then when we return to the bedroom to turn off the belching humidifier, our retina and iris and brain are all put to work again, adjusting now to the absence of light, as they had only recently adjusted to its glaring presence.
This past Monday evening, the Administrative Board looked at a video that told about our Conference Apportionments and what they accomplish. We tried watching it with the lights on but then decided to turn them off, and indeed we were then able to see better. I remember thinking, as the lights went out, how pitch black the room was and how bright the screen was. In just a few moments, however, the room seemed downright lit up, both from the light in the hallway and the light from the television screen. Adjusting to the light; adjusting to the darkness.
Isaiah says in that marvelous ninth chapter words that bring up memories of Christmas Eve services and all that goes with them: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness -- on them light has shined" (9:2).
The prophet Isaiah, who spoke words of challenge and hope to the people of Israel eight centuries before Jesus was born, created a marvelous picture here, a powerful image. It spoke to the people of his day and it speaks to us in our day.
Darkness is a relative thing. Do you suppose that all the people of Israel felt that they were living in darkness? Or had they simply gotten used to the constant threat of foreign armies, the turmoil and meaninglessness of playing the harlot with other gods than the one who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, the God of Abraham and Sarah and David? Is it possible that there were those who heard these words and said to themselves, "Darkness? What darkness?"
Is that not what our nation has experienced? The joy of the World War II victory, then the Korean War victory, and the economy and standard of living began to crank up. Even churches were booming, people joining as fast as membership classes could be formed.
Who was aware of the darkness? Who noticed the shallow commitment when people joined our booming churches? Who noticed the racism which had become so institutionalized that to the haves it was invisible and to the ethnic minorities it was simply a way of life?
Darkness? What darkness? Sexual promiscuity was hidden but rampant, and married couples endured lifeless marriages, because divorce was too great a taboo to bear. Women had to fight for anything they could get, and men had to be men, strong, stoic, and alone. And congregations worshipped and sang and preachers preached waves and waves of words, but few got wet. Darkness? What darkness?
And today, while divorce for most is a reluctant, painful last resort, for many it is the first resort. Sexual promiscuity is out in the open, women are still fighting for equal recognition and pay, but are now privileged to get the same stress-related diseases as men. Youth have all the stimulation they want through videos and automobiles, and racism continues. And congregations worship and preachers preach and ... and what?
I'll tell you what. There really are those who are aware of the darkness. And there are those who have seen the great light. But it takes a long time to adjust to the light.
For years preachers preached about banning the bomb. And then, finally, prayers were answered, hearts were touched, and the problem now is what to do with all the plutonium from all of those bombs.
For years the church taught about the destructive power in lives and families of alcohol and drugs, but it was called naive and moralistic. Now it is nationwide news that leaders in schools are pledging with their students to use no drugs of any kind.
For years the church has preached the joys of sex, sex in the bonds of marriage, and people have laughed. Today the word abstinence before marriage is gaining ground, if even in small conclaves.
I believe that a society that has lived in darkness so long finds the light painful, for it has adjusted to the darkness. But over time, by God's grace and the gentle, persistent work of faithful Christians, people see the light, adjust to the light, and lives are changed.
There was a blooper headline seen in a Poughkeepsie newspaper: "Two Persons Hurt In Route 9 Crash -- Peekskill Woman Suffers Consciousness." Is it possible that our society might be suffering "consciousness"?
Back in the spring of 1992 a quote came out of Congress: "A balanced budget is only for the truly religious, for the balance to which it refers occurs only in the hereafter."
There are those who simply do not believe that God's Kingdom has a chance in this world, and, believe me, I have my days. But I do believe these words from Archbishop William Temple, written in 1930:
While we deliberate, God reigns; when we decide wisely, God reigns; when we decide foolishly, God reigns; when we serve God in humble loyalty, God reigns; when we serve God self-assertively, God reigns; when we rebel and seek to withhold our service, God reigns -- the Alpha and the Omega, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
(From Context, February 1, 1992)
It's a marvelous mystery, isn't it, that on the one hand God works in spite of us, and on the other hand we are central to the plan God has of bringing salvation and wholeness to our world. Jesus didn't call his disciples to go with him by saying, "Come with me so we can stand around and watch God do mighty things." No, Jesus said, "Come with me and we'll go fishing, only now we'll fish for people instead of food for the tummy."
Jesus made it clear that there are some specific things for men and women to do, ministries which God uses to do kingdom-building work: like feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, aiding the poor, visiting those in prison, witnessing to everyone about God's love revealed in Jesus.
But for many in our society darkness prevails, as in Isaiah's day. Other gods than the Lord are being worshipped. Other ways of life than the way for which we are created are being followed.
Douglas Taylor-Weiss, rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Dayton, Ohio, has proposed a new set of Ten Commandments based on his observations of our culture. Here they are:
1. Have a good day.
2. Shop.
3. Eliminate pain.
4. Be up-to-date.
5. Relax.
6. Express yourself.
7. Have a happy family.
8. Be entertaining.
9. Be entertained.
10. Buy entertainment.
(Context, February 1, 1992)
The fact is that those 10 commandments don't bring joy and meaning over a lifetime. God's commandments do. But what you and I know through God's gift of Jesus is that what God wants is not just people fearfully carrying out all God's commandments. What God wants is for us to know that God loves us with an everlasting love, as Jeremiah reminded his people in chapter 31, verse 3. We learn through Jesus that before we will be able to follow God's commandments, we must know, we must be converted to the reality of how much the Giver of those commandments loves us.
It is up to the church, and not to anyone else, to be sure that our country, our society, your business, your schoolmates, your children and family all get exposed to the great light, the message of Jesus Christ, the message that we are loved by God. Then we graciously give time and opportunity to allow our society to adjust to the light, for the darkness in which we live is so deep, that the pain of the light can be too great to bear. I believe an awareness of that one fact will help to give us patience and gentleness in our Christian witness.
Some of that adjusting to the light, I believe, is already happening. In some places, in some cities, in some communities, in some schools, the bright truth of God's love and way of life that brings meaning and joy is coming to be seen through squinted eyes.
The church must not lose its courage to witness even when it takes decades for people to catch on, to adjust to the light. I am glad that I am a part of a movement that is so monumental, so vast, so cosmic, so all encompassing, that it cannot be accomplished in my lifetime, a movement that is nothing less than the salvation of the world.
