Isaiah 9:1-4
Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
1 Cor. 1:10-18
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Peter”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel - not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
**************************************************************
One of my favourite cartoons is Lynn Johnston's "For Better of for Worse". I don’t know how many men or children would be able to see themselves in it but I guarantee that women see themselves in it almost daily. I certainly have.
In case you are not familiar with this cartoon, let me give you a little background. It is loosely based on the family life of Lynn, who lives in North Bay Ontario - and is married to a dentist. Her stories are drawn from all kinds of experiences and issues which we all confront in life - revolving around a fictional character Elly, her husband and two children Michael and Elizabeth.
I think my all-time favourite is when John goes away to a convention and Elly is along - the kids are asleep, and as she lies in bed, the house begins to make strange noises - a tap dripping here, a creak there, a thump somewhere downstairs.
Elly’s eyes get bigger and bigger, and she slides further down until the balnkets are right up over her nose “Somehow the house just seems so much emptier when John’s not here.” she thinks. Eventually, there are only eyes peering over the top of the blankets, and there is Elly, thinking to herself “I wonder how many feminists are afraid of the dark?”
I wonder how many of us are afraid of the dark?
Sometimes when I would drive along Highway 401 at night in Toronto, I could see the headlights of a jet circling to land. Especially on a cloudy or foggy night, it is amazing to see those two powerful beams slicing through the clouds. The right wingtip has a red flashing light, and the left wingtip a green flashing light. The riding, or running lights are there so that the plane will be visible to others in the dark. The headlights are there so that the pilot will be able to see.
It is the same with ships - the left, or port side, has a green running light. The right, or starboard, has a red running light. Navigation of ships was done by the stars. Did you know that it still is? Yes, ships have all kinds of computer technology to navigate by, but on every commercial ship, the navigational officers and bridge crew *must* be able to do everything the old fashioned way - with a sextant, and by the stars. I was on the bridge of a ship last year, after dark, - and on big ships the bridge must remain dark so that the crew can see outside. The moon was shining, and not far from it was an incredibly bright light. Both I and the two officers were sure it was the space station. The captain arrived, and we asked him what he thought. “No”, he said “It’s Jupiter.” When we checked the almanac, indeed it was.
Light is an integral part of our lives - and the absence of light, the darkness, tends to frighten us. How about a really simple example? I bet every one of us, at some time, has come home quite late, having forgotten to leave light on in the house.
Well, if you’re like me, nothing ever seems to be in the place it should be - not even the light switches, which always seem to be at least three inches further left than we remember they were. Distance and space are distorted in the dark. Even time seems distorted.
We bang our shins on the coffee table and mutter under our breath, trying to pretend it didn’t really hurt. The old dressing gown on the back of the door takes on ominous proportions, and we suddenly develop a great need, like our friend Ebenezer Scrooge, to peer under the bed and behind all the doors.
And then what happens?
We find the light switch, and everything is thrown into stark relief. The coffee table seems a lot smaller than it did when we barked our shins on it, and tried to feel our way around it. The goblin behind the door simply becomes our comfy and baggy old dressing gown again.
And we realise there’s nothing more lurking under the bed than a couple of dust bunnies and those pencils we couldn’t find last time the phone rang.
*************************************************************
The World Council of Churches logo is a ship sailing the sea. The metaphor of the church as a ship has been used for centuries. You all know well that the front of the church - here where the table and pulpit are, and the choir - is called the chancel. The lobby is known as the narthex. But the main body of the church, where you are all sitting, is called the *nave* - from the Latin “navis” meaning ship. So in church, we are literally sitting in the belly of the ship.
What kind of ship is the Christian church in the world? The good ship “Lollipop” where we are happy as long as everything goes the way we think it should? Are we a cruise ship, living the life of luxury while the people who look after us work long hard hours for slave wages? Are we a ship full of a bunch of sailors who all think they know the best way to steer, and can’t even agree on the charts?
How do we know where we are sailing? How do others see us as we sail? Do all our leading and running lights work properly? Do we know how to navigate by the stars?
Isaiah says "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." We take that to be a prophecy referring to Jesus; in my imagery of light - Jesus becomes the leading light - the headlights on the plane, the star which shines in our spiritual sky to give guidance on the way.
What does that make us? Christ is the leading light - the star pointing the way for us, but no ship can travel with only one light. Every ship needs running lights too - to port and starboard - every ship needs light in the galley - every ship needs light to be able to see other ships.
With a leading light alone, progress is slow. With running lights alone progress is also hampered. It is the fine working of both together - through calm and through storm - which enables the ship to make headway. So if we in the Christian church are neither leading lights nor running lights, how do we help light the way for others?
If we stay inside our own little ship, put out the lights outside, and shutter the windows, we can see each other, but we cannot see out and no one else can see in.
The light only works if it illuminates the way for everyone.
Is the Christian church a light for a world in increasing darkness? Is each of us a light in our part of the ship? Every ship needs leading lights and running lights. If there are no lights at all, the end is disaster.
It is a question I ask a lot - because it seems as if the church and Christians are no longer a light, or stars on the way, for illumination as we travel together. We are inward focussed; we have put out the lights on our ship and shuttered the windows so that we can see only each other inside - most of us thinking the same way of course - and no one can see in.
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians makes a strong case for being united rather than divided. Jesus, the leading light, in my image, did not come to divide, but to bring together. Today marks the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity”, and so we have the word of Paul to the churches in Corinth. These churches were seriously divided, over who was the one they followed - Paul. Peter. Apollos or Jesus.
On the back of your bulletin this morning, is a reflection by Rev. Darren Liepold, Mission and Service staff at our national office. Darren writes “We remember that despite our differences we are all part of God’s family. We are diverse, but each of us is created in God’s image. The languages may be different, the liturgical practices anything but uniform, yet today we celebrate our unity.” We celebrate our unity in Jesus, who is the one leading light, the great shining star we see in the sky.
Based on a sermon “Leading Lights and Running Lights” , January 1996, Fran Ota.
Notes by Rev. Darren Liepold, Mission and Service Staff, The United Church od Canada; January 23, 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment