Services | Sunday at FPC | Sermons | Podcasts | Home

The Light and A Smoke Detector

Sermon by Rev. Paul Fahnestock — September 28, 2008
 

Download: The Light and A Smoke Detector as an MP3 file
(right click and save as)

Introduction
There is evidence that our society has some comprehension of the darkness that exists in our world. Have you noticed we have a dark mess in our financial industry?

It is popular politics today to bash the big, greedy corporate types on Wall Street for the economic chaos now unfolding in our country. But the greed on Wall Street depended, in large part, on the greed of the guy on Main Street. It may not be politically popular to talk about it. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Yes, greed drove the financial wizards on Wall Street and their co-conspirators — the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and insurance companies. But we can’t forget the underlying greed of borrowers. The bottom-line is the result of little financial prudence from a generation that has gorged itself on instant gratification. (Janet Albrechtsen, The Australian Business, September 24, 2008)

And in response to the darkness of pervasive greed, politicians are busy proposing laws and a $700 billion bail-out plan. We pray our economy will become sane and healthy. But the root problem, the problem of darkness — greed and sin in all forms — is too great to be solved by political and economic means.

Is there any hope then? Let’s read an extraordinary statement Jesus made to His disciples:

You are the light of the world — like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:14-16, New Living Translation)

The Light of the World
Jesus says to His disciples, “You are the light of the world.” What is implied is that the world is in a state of darkness. Of course the world never sees itself in these terms—perhaps you don’t see the world in this way, either. We prefer to think that we live in an “enlightened” period. However, the New Testament declares that those living apart from Christ are in complete darkness.

The apostle Paul reminds the Colossians of this, in his letter to them: “[God] has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). And, to the Ephesians, Paul writes: “For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!” (Ephesians 5:8). It is important to recognize that human beings are not light by nature. Light must first be imparted to us before it can go forth from us.

Have you ever had a glow-in-the-dark object? Maybe you’ve seen the stars and planets you can stick on the ceiling, which then glow when the lights are turned out. The packaging usually contains a message something like this:

IF YOU WANT ME TO SHINE IN THE NIGHT, KEEP ME IN THE LIGHT.

Those are also God’s instructions to us: If you want your light to shine in this dark world, keep yourselves exposed to the One who is the Light. Jesus, who once said, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5), also declares to His followers, “You are the light of the world.” These two statements must always be taken together, since our light depends entirely on our relationship to Him who is “the light of the world.”

You are the light of the world like a city on a hilltop. A city is not a single light, but a collection of many lights. In the time of Jesus, the tiny lights glowing out of the windows of the houses at night could be seen for many miles. A modern day perspective might be the lights of earth’s cities visible from space. The image of a “city on a hill” speaks of us letting our lights shine as a community of faith. It speaks of the influence of the body of Christ in our community, our nation and the world. As a church we let our lights shine as we follow Christ through our words and actions, by our love for God and love for our neighbor. Then, like a city set on a hill, our light, the light of Christ, cannot be hidden.

First Presbyterian is to be a city set on a hill in Bonita Springs and our mission is to let our light shine in our community and to the ends of the earth. God has established this church, and every other church in our community, to be a light for Him.

A Lamp and a Basket
Jesus also speaks of a “lamp.” A lamp in Jesus’ day was a clay bowl filled with olive oil, with a cord of twisted flax as a wick. One lamp could provide light for the whole house. I believe the lamp speaks of the individual Christian as a light in this world of darkness. For the Christian, it is not a question of whether we possess light. What is in question, what remains undetermined, is how effectively we are projecting the light that abides in us.

And then Jesus mentions a basket. A basket is a good, and useful, article, and it was a commonly used household item in Jesus’ day. Why would anyone put the light under a basket? I see the basket representing the pursuits of ordinary life. Like putting a basket over a light, we often neglect the Lord’s command to shine, not because we are engaged in bad things, but because we are completely immersed in the important affairs of ordinary life. Even if we are engaged in good things, this is a problem if these good things interfere with our opportunities to shine the light of the gospel.

For many people, Christ gets our leftover time. Serving Christ is an afterthought which follows the completion of our household, vocational, and family responsibilities. Jesus tells us, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). When we seek our good and necessary affairs of ordinary life first, what we have effectively done is covered the light of the gospel with a basket.

Why would Jesus put the kingdom of God ahead of all of the important things we have to do? Because what is at stake are human souls. While we enjoy the light of Christ, people all around us need rescuing from the domain of darkness.

At other times, it seems we choose to hide our light with a basket labeled “off-limits.” We fix certain situations in our minds where we will not take the initiative to expose our relationship with Christ and let our light shine. Consider the college student who became a Christian and went to work in a lumber camp for the summer. His pastor was concerned for him because he knew the lumber camp would be a difficult environment for a Christian. When the summer was over and the young man returned, the pastor said to him, “I want you to know I knew you were a new Christian and life in a lumber camp was going to be a challenge. I prayed for you that they wouldn’t make it too hard on you.” The young man responded, “Oh no, Pastor, I didn’t have any difficulty at the lumber camp. In fact, none of them ever found out I was a Christian!”

Letting Your Light Shine
When have we decided to put a basket over our light? When we are out to dinner with friends and we’re not sure if mentioning God or Jesus Christ would offend them? When we are with family members and we don’t want to spoil the occasion with our beliefs? Have we set our work environment, our colleagues, as “off-limits,” as inappropriate times to expose the light of Christ? Out on the golf course or on the tennis court? Have we set these places as “off-limits” to letting others know what we believe about God?

I believe Jesus is saying there must be something distinct about our character if we are true Christians. Just as light is distinct from darkness, so the Christian should be distinct from the non-Christian. If we go through life talking and living like everyone else, we show ourselves to be poor stewards of the light—or worse, we call into question whether we even possess the light of Christ. There must be a difference of habits and desires between us and those who belong to the world.

The call here is for a thoughtful and prayerful use of the light entrusted to us. Our light is to shine in such a way that those living in darkness might see their way out of the darkness. Our light is to shine with a purpose.

Jesus makes the goal clear. We are to let our “good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Who is the “everyone” Jesus mentions? I can tell you that it is not necessarily those who are sitting beside you in church this morning. We are here to worship God and to be equipped to go out to people lost in a dark and dead world. We go to be light, to tell them about a God who loves them and a Savior who has rescued them and invites them into the light and life of God’s kingdom. Our testimony is about a great God who loved us and saved us even though we deserved severe judgment. Our purpose is not to make people look at us and say, “What a great Christian!” No. We want people to see our lives and say, “What a great God! I want to know Him, too.”

Lessons Learned
Three weeks ago, I was preparing to go to a home with my wife Linda and other members of this church. A woman and her two children, ages 5 and 7, needed help cleaning their mobile home. This woman suffers from diabetes; she has had one leg and the other foot amputated, and she is confined to a wheelchair. I decided to take with me four smoke detectors to install in the mobile home. The day before, I gathered the tools I would need and put them with the detectors.

On that Saturday, we arrived with cleaning supplies, lots of trash bags, and the fire detector kit. We all got busy cleaning and it was really a mess. It was nearly impossible to even get to the beds because of the clutter. We hauled out bags and bags of toys, clothes, and trash until, finally, it was possible to move freely about the home and get into the bedrooms. We cleaned the refrigerator and the bathrooms and swept the floors. At the end, we were tired but happy with what we had accomplished.

As we packed our supplies to leave, I discovered my bag with the smoke detectors and decided they could wait until next week to be installed. We left after praying together. The woman reported later in the week how happy she was to be able to sleep in her bed instead of in her wheelchair.

The following Friday morning, I received news that Rosa Patino’s mobile home had been totally destroyed by a fire. At around 11:30 PM, Rosa, aware of the fire in her bedroom, told her children, Nathan and Maria, to get out of the mobile home and find someone to help her out. The children ran out and found a man walking along the street who ran into the home and pulled Rosa to safety. Thank God the children were safe, but Rosa suffered burns over 50% of her body and remains in Tampa General Hospital. We pray she will recover. Firefighter Jason Brod was also injured fighting the fire, and we pray for his recovery.

I was stunned at this news. I immediately thought about the smoke detectors in my garage. Might this have turned out differently if I had installed them the Saturday before? I wept. I hurt. I repented to God for having procrastinated. I believe God has forgiven me and I hope Rosa will. What does this have to do with letting my light shine? Over the past week, I have been impressed with two lessons.

First, this all happened while I was attempting to let my light shine. It proves God’s grace has to shine through imperfect vessels. As one of my favorite devotional writers, David Roper, has written: It is “God’s greatness flowing through our basic incompetence. This is grace.”

Secondly, as I confided in the Lord the pain and heartache I felt for Rosa’s tragedy, I had the thought, and I believe it was from the Lord, that the pain and sadness I felt was only a small fraction of the pain and sadness God feels every time we procrastinate in sharing God’s love or following through on doing something good for others.

Putting up a physical smoke detector could help to avert physical tragedy, but putting up spiritual smoke detectors — speaking of God’s love, doing good works, letting our light shine — has eternal consequences.

This was a lesson I will never forget. One of these smoke detectors will remain in my office, on my desk, for the rest of my life to remind me to not procrastinate but to let my light shine as the Lord gives me opportunity.

If you were to be very honest today, would you have to confess with me that your light isn’t as bright as it should be? Would you have to say with me that you have set limits to when you would let your light shine? Are you a light for Jesus? Could you be doing better? What are you going to do with your light?

Jesus commands us to shine, so we must shine. Shine the light of the Gospel in whatever context you find yourself, for the love of God and the love of your neighbor.

Prayer of Confession

Eternal God, whose covenant with us is never broken, we confess that we fail to fulfill your will. Though you have bound yourself to us, we will not bind ourselves to you. In Jesus Christ you serve us freely, but we refuse your love and withhold ourselves from others. We do not love you fully or love one another as you command. We have acted selfishly, and we are often resistant to do even the little things you ask us to do. Please forgive us and cleanse us by your grace. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.