LENTEN DEVOTIONAL April 5, 2014 The Fifth Saturday in Lent Rev. Wanda Childs Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Leonard Cohen’s hauntingly beautiful song “Anthem” has a verse that says: “ Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything Thats how the light gets in” The cracks are how the light gets in! I am not proud of my cracks. I wish I were a perfect vase, with no worn spots, no leaks, and no weaknesses in the seams. Yet, when Jesus was giving instruction to the masses, he told them simply that they were the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Not to become perfect so that they could shine the light – Jesus told them they were the light. Light is a familiar metaphor in scripture: • Psalm 36:9 says of God, in your light we see light. Psalm 119:105 says of the scriptures, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Isaiah 42:6 told Israel that God intended them to be a light to the nations, i.e., to all the world. • Jesus adopted the metaphor for himself in John 9:5, “I am the light of the world” In Matthew 5:16, Jesus goes farther. He says we are the light. Do we even begin to realize what a dramatic statement that is? Yes, we light candles. We do things. We make a difference. But we also are the candle. We are the children of God. We are the difference. Truly this is our blessing and our commissioning. While we ourselves are often overwhelmed with our weaknesses and flaws, God’s Holy Spirit breaks through our very cracks, shining love, grace and glory. Thanks be to God. Prayer: Gracious God, We give you thanks that you have blessed and commissioned us to be your light in this world. Grant that through your Holy Spirit our love will seep out through our cracks and crevices to glorify you. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Apr 2014 23:01:57 +0000
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