Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen. [BCP p. 215]
There’s a lot of light in the season of Epiphany. The season of Advent talks about the darkness, and Christmas talks about the light coming into the world. Epiphany shines forth with the light of a certain star. Today we take center stage, so to speak, and find the spotlight turned upon us in the day’s collect: “Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory …”
Who’s illumined? We are! Oh my. Were you ready for that?
When I was in school, I’ll confess I wasn’t the world’s greatest student. I found school boring. I found textbooks boring. I found homework boring. I wish I could say I was too brilliant to deal with all that stuff, but I wasn’t. I was probably dealing with an attention deficit (whatever that means – I had no deficit; my attention was simply elsewhere in the time/space continuum of life).
I struggled to pay attention. As the teachers spoke, I found myself doing many things at my desk, but paying attention wasn’t one of those “things” that I was doing?
The last thing in the world I ever wanted was for the teacher to call on me. First of all, the odds I would hear my name was somewhere near zero. The odds of hearing and understanding the question were even less than that. Fortunately, I had good teachers. They were smart, and it didn’t take them long to figure out that it was better to call on someone else if they wanted their lessons to move forward in the allotted time.
In our prayer for today, there is an unspoken assumption that God’s people are brilliant. Grant us, we pray – we who are so illumined. But wait; there’s more! We are not the source of that light; we are a reflection of that light!
Have you ever looked toward the moon when it is just a sliver in the sky? Have you ever looked closely and noticed how you can also make out the “dark” side of the moon? While the bright part of the moon is being illuminated by the sun (that much is clear), the so-called dark side is also being illuminated – enough so we can see it, even if not all that clearly. What is illuminating the dark side of the moon? The earth! The earth is reflecting sunlight to such a degree that it allows us to see the dark side, even though we will often say we haven’t seen the dark side of the moon (prior to moon shots); the fact is we DO see it.
Full Moon over Mount Vernon (2021)
The light of Christ shines on us, and in our prayer, we ask God to let enough of his light to bounce off of us so that those who continue to walk in darkness will have the light they need to continue safely in their own journeys. We are not the light, but we are reflections of the light. How marvelous! God illuminates us, not so the world can see us, but so that the world can see - period.
Over the years I have had watches with pale green splotches on their faces. Sometimes those dots are on the 12, 3, 6, and 9 spots on the dial. Other times they mark all twelve hours. What’s most important, though, is that the green paint also lines the long and short hands of the timepieces. They absorb light by day so that they may store up and give off light in the dark, allowing the wearer to tell what time it is. When those green spots are dim, I often shine a flashlight on the watch face to make the green ever more brilliant, even if only for a little while.
“Word and Sacrament” is the Church’s flashlight. As we gather together, we receive the good news as it is delivered in the scriptures and in the sermon, and we receive the good news as it is delivered in the bread and in the wine; we are renewed, just like the phosphorescent materials on the watch are renewed by the light of the torch. We receive what we need to be of service to those around us.
I confess I am never as alive to the Lord (or IN the Lord) as when I am surrounded by fellow worshipers in Church. Yes, I can worship God under the stars and in the woods and while out to sea, but I find myself worshiping God best in the company of saints who may well be surprised that they are thought of as reflectors of God. But they are. I see God more clearly in them and through them.
When I am alone, don’t tell anyone, but God is far more likely to be a reflection of me. When alone, I find God thinks like me and approves my every thought, word, and deed. In the company of saints in light, though, I see God more clearly, as well as my need for God. Our collect today reminds us, too, that we serve God best when we reflect the light God shines upon us.
There’s a lot of light in the season of Epiphany. If I look closely, I’ll probably see my need for Lent, too, which isn’t that far off!
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