2.5.23 Matthew 5:14-16 (EHV)
14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
At this point in Jesus’ ministry he was gathering large crowds. Matthew 4:23 says, “Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.” People were coming from Galilee in the north, Jerusalem in the south, and all over the place. He was becoming the main attraction throughout the region. So along the sea of Galilee Jesus found a place to speak to hundreds to thousands of people in His famous Sermon on the Mount. We started last week with the Beatitudes. Then He continues with today’s text.
You Are the Light of the World. Be Who You Are
You are the light of the world. That’s kind of a profound thing to say, isn’t it? Joel Osteen has a tendency to say things like this, to tell people how great they are and how they can do anything they put their minds to. But experience tells us he’s just lying to make them feel good. Jesus is no Joel Osteen. He wouldn’t say something like that unless He meant it. He was talking to people who came to listen to Him and follow Him. He knew that this would be written in the record books and that we as Christians would hear Him speaking this to us as well. You are the light of the world. Jesus wouldn’t say that if He didn’t mean it. But what does it mean? Why does He say it?
First of all, just look at the verb. You ARE. It’s a present status. It’s not something He’s telling us to be. It’s who we are. It’s not like trying out for a team that you’re trying to make or applying for a job you don’t have yet. It’s not like going out on a date. You already have your status as a baptized believer in Christ. You’ve been healed of your sins through the death of Christ on the cross for you. You’ve been showered with Jesus’ mercy. You’ve been shown the God of grace. God’s Word has shown the light of Christ on you and said, “You’re forgiven. You’re loved. You’re saved, in Jesus.”
Think of all these people who had had their friends or relatives or themselves healed of deadly diseases. Think of how many of them heard for the first time that they were forgiven and loved by Jesus. Outcasts of society. They were so happy to hear the gospel. They were so happy to be in the presence of Jesus. It would have naturally brought them joy and happiness.
I’ve sometimes compared it to the moon at night. It doesn’t produce its own light. In and of itself it’s just a dead rock with an American flag on it and lots of dust. Yet when the sun shines on it, it suddenly becomes beautiful. It just reflects the light of the sun and provides light to the earth at night. That’s one reason God put the moon in the sky as He did - to produce light at night. Jesus is the light of the world. When He shines on us with His grace and mercy and love and forgiveness, He brightens us up in a dark world. He makes us light, like when Moses’ face shone after coming down from Mt. Sinai after being in the presence of God. Only our light is even more glorious, because it’s reflecting the light of Jesus. I don’t have to work for this status. I already have it. It comes NATURALLY to me as a baptized believer. You are the light of the world.
This is what Jesus says about you when you are brought to faith in Him. So when you tell yourself that you are a failure, that you are a mess, that God hates you, that God doesn’t want you, those are lies. That’s not God’s Word. That’s your word. You are NOT worthless. You are not darkness. You are not hated by God. You are the light of the world.
Light is made to shine. God made the sun to shine. He made the moon to shine as well. It’s why they were placed in the sky in the exact places where they are. It’s why God placed you in this world as well. And what does it mean to let your light shine? In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Jesus equates it with “good works.” James says something similar when he writes, “Faith without works is dead.”
We Lutherans are famous for our stand that we are saved by grace ALONE, by Christ ALONE, without the deeds of the law. But that never meant that we don’t do good works. Good works are not necessary FOR SALVATION, but they are NATURAL for people who are saved. There’s a difference between something being NATURAL and being NECESSARY. If a woman says to a man, “I won’t marry you unless you make 75,000 a year,” she is putting a stipulation on her love and dedication. But if she says, “I will love you no matter what you make,” it shows that she isn’t basing her love on what he can do for her. She loves him as he is. He might then be all the more motivated to work hard to provide for her BECAUSE of her dedication to him, especially if she marries him even if he is nothing but a beggar. Isn’t this what we do because of Jesus?
“Good works” is about as general of a term as you can use. It varies greatly among Christians, depending on where you are in life. I think of Bonnie Gwizdala who recently died. She wasn’t active here at church at all within committees and things, but she was very active taking care of her parents and other needy kids that came into her life. She let her light shine within the context of taking care of the people who were closest to her in life. Just recently our basketball teams played Bethel. The Bethel boys let one of our boys score a basket, and the whole crowd cheered for him. Our team also let one of their boys who was in a wheelchair try to shoot as well. The referee came and thanked Mr. Towne for the way that the boys were coached. It can be as simple as being friendly at work, being hard working, or being willing to take a shift for your co-worker who needs someone to fill in for them. It could mean being attentive at school or friendly to the classmate who is kind of an outcast. It could play itself out in thousands of different ways. In a dark world, even the simplest of kind deeds can stand out.
This isn’t to gain attention to yourself. You aren’t saying to God, “Hey look at me!” because you know they aren’t really that great, especially by God’s standards. But notice how Jesus says this, In the same way let your light shine in people’s presence, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Here is the first time in the book of Matthew where Jesus refers back to God as “your Father.” He brings in a familial aspect to this whole good works thing. I am created by God. I am adopted by God in my baptism. Through his birth and death Jesus became my brother and He even became my sin. He’s done so much for me. I deserved NONE of it. I want to let the world know what a great and caring Father He is. I want to draw others to His beauty. I want to live up to His name as best I can.
What does this mean for someone battling with depression though? What does this mean for someone who’s had a really tough life, who’s been abused, or who is suffering from a chronic physical ailment? How can they be the light of the world when it seems they are constantly bombarded with darkness all around them and they are genuinely suffering? I think of Job who went through so many health problems, boils on his skin, an inability to sleep or get comfortable, all of his children died, his wealth was stolen from him, his friends accused him of all kinds of crimes. He went through tremendous periods of anger and darkness and doubt. But then in the middle of it all, somewhere deep down in the darkness, he burst out a simple statement of faith in Job 19:25–27, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” There was still faith deep down in his soul. Those words are repeated at hundreds to thousands of Christian funerals every year. They shine out because of how they are spoken in the midst of darkness.
I recall a few years back some of our members had their young son die in a car accident. That very next day they were in worship on a Monday night with tears in their eyes, seeking hope and comfort in the midst of their loss. The light was there. That’s how it sometimes works, in very humble ways. It can shine out in just coming to worship to receive the Supper. Here’s someone who still has hope. Here’s someone who hasn’t given up. It can shine out in words of faith, “I know Jesus still loves me. I look forward to seeing my loved one again.” For the one who continues to hope, who continues to pray, who continues to listen to the Word of God in the midst of the sorrow, who continues to find comfort in the midst of the darkness, the light still shines. They haven’t abandoned God. They haven’t given up.
This is one of the reasons we are still here yet today, to give light to this dark world. People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. No, they put it on a stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. It seems like a strange thing. Why would anyone put a lamp under a basket? Imagine waking up in the morning and you have a teenage child who fell asleep on the couch. You want to get on with your day, but they are lying there in the darkness. You know if you turn on the light, they are going to be angry with you. They want to sleep. There are people that want to sleepwalk through this world. They like their sins. They enjoy the darkness. I remember speaking with one spouse who would rather her husband stayed an alcoholic, because he was nicer when he was drinking. When he tried to stop he was a real jerk. Is that why we don’t like to let our light shine at times? The light brings exposure to sin. It endangers relationships. It makes us stand out and get attacked. So sometimes we are tempted to keep it hidden, because life is easier that way. But God didn’t call us to live an easy life. He doesn’t want people to remain in darkness, because the darkness of hell will be so much worse.
Why else would you be afraid to let your light shine? Maybe you’ve made a mess of your life and you don’t want the pressure of having to live up to your faith. You’ve failed so many times. So you play it safe by not saying anything or doing anything to stand out. You live your life in fear and shame to a point. That’s not natural, and you know it’s not! Don’t forget, you too are a forgiven child of God. I can recall one time remembering a sin I had committed years ago. I was in bed. I couldn’t sleep. So I took the bed covers and put them over my head. I wanted to hide. I didn’t want to get up that day. But the longer I stayed under the blanket, it got warmer and warmer and darker and darker. I started to panic. The devil had me right where he wanted me to stay. Finally, I thought to myself, “What am I doing here in the darkness? Jesus already went through this and so much worse for me on the cross. I don’t have to live like this. I can come out from the darkness because of Jesus. I can get up and live!” Throughout your sins and failures, God was merciful to you and brought you back. Jesus died for you too, not so that you live in darkness, but so that you can let your light shine too.
Sometimes those who have been down the road of the Prodigal Son can be some of the greatest testimonies of God’s grace. Their lights shine all the more, pointing to the mercy of the Father. If people see that God could make his light shine in you, after all you’ve done, then that speaks to God’s grace all the more. It makes God MORE attractive because of His mercy and patience. Don’t be afraid to let your light shine now. Don’t let your past make you afraid. Live in the present. You ARE the light of the world.
One of the neat things about a campfire is just sitting around and watching the fire. It’s relaxing. It’s beautiful. It also keeps you warm. It looks better at night. So do you.
The light of the stars travel through millions of miles in order to reach our planet. They serve as markers for days and seasons and years. They are joined together under constellations. They provide beauty and direction to our world at night. So can you.
Imagine how beautiful our church could be if we let our lights shine like we could, how many more people would be attracted to come here. We don’t shine alone. Jesus compares us to a city on a hill. We shine together as we unite together, under word and sacrament, to receive the light of Christ. We go out into a dark world to shine as a beacon, and bring people back to the city of God.
Jesus doesn’t tell you to be phony or fake. You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not. With all of your sins and your flaws, through faith in Jesus, as a forgiven child of God, You are the light of the world. It’s not a sweet nothing. These aren’t the words of a flattering televangelist. These are the words of your Savior and your God and your Lord, who doesn’t lie. You are the light of the world. Be who you are. Amen.
