|
|
|
|
 John 1:1-14
All through the scriptures there are magnificent references to light. One of my favorites is Isaiah 9:2, which is often read in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
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.
This passage stirs me with tremendous excitement. I remember a woman coming up to me once after the service urgently asking, "Dr. Caliandro, what is that scripture? Where can I find it?" I could see it had affected her the same way.
The prologue to the gospel of John starts with these wonderful words:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God--What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
This light is so powerful and so promising that no darkness will ever extinguish it. This gives me hope. Although we all know about the tragedy, loss and harshness of our life's journey, we also know that there is a light which cannot be put out. Regardless of the evil and the madness of the world, I believe this light will never go out, and we can live both in the promise and the experience of this light.
It might seem that finding and following this light would be easy to do--there is darkness, and then you see a light, and the light takes the darkness away. When I would be out on the boat at night and coming into the harbor, I would be guided by a lighthouse, the lights on the little buoys, and the lights on the shore. That was enough to let me know where I was.
But in our life's journey finding light can be very confusing and difficult. The flashing lights thrown at us by our culture can be distracting: "Here is the truth! This is the best thing! This is what you should believe! This will give you the kind of life you want and should have!" Some of these lights can come at us with sureness and authority.
One of the lights shining constantly is the idea that happiness comes from wealth and material goods. Among the people I have known, those without material wealth often have been happier than those who have seemed to have everything. Clearly money does not answer any of the real questions. Yet so many of us are driven to acquire more and more. "If I get a little more money, then I will be happy."
Is there anybody here who has not thought about how their lives would change if they won the lottery? Studies done on lottery winners show that most are less happy than before. Recently I saw on television a group of people from a meat-packing plant in Nebraska that won the lottery. They seemed to be a lovely group of people. Yet a distressing comment was made by one of the men who got the biggest laugh. He said, "I've been retired four days." I felt sad for the man who gave up his job. Although he got a hearty laugh, his work obviously was not fulfilling. Yet another man said, "I have to go to work, because I'm the only one who can do that job." If we live our lives as a calling, filling a bigger purpose, then if we win the lottery, we are not likely to quit our jobs. The money will enhance the lives we already have.
Another bright light shines on us from the world of fashion. If we are wearing the right combination of clothes, with the right labels, creating just the right look, we will be all right. Yet we know the world of fashion can be shallow, as if appearances are everything. Then the cosmetic industry is very profitable. Part of their success comes from products that promise to remove age lines off of faces. They make incredible promises. You will never look old if you buy this cream.
Hear me now--for as long as human beings have been human beings, we have grown from being babies, to teenagers, through our twenties, thirties, forties--then, if we live to be older, our hair gets white, and our skin begins to show lines. Rather than cover the lines, I wonder what it would be like if we could be honest with each other and could identify each line and the life experience that helped create it. "This line I earned when I lost a good job; this line I earned when I was sick; this line I earned when I raised my children." Every line could be a badge of honor, something that is earned. If we could do this we would be very different people. I think we would honor each other's lives and experiences so much more.
There is the flashing light promising happiness based on what car we drive. The make, style, and color of our cars seems so important. When I was nineteen years old I learned a big lesson about the lure of the big fancy car. I had just started preaching at four little rural churches in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. The wealthiest man in the church had the oldest automobile. The car I was driving was newer than his, and I made some wisecrack to him about it. "Young man," he replied, "I want to tell you something. A long time ago, when I got my first car, I decided that the purpose of a car is to get me from here to there and back. It is just transportation. I decided I would own a car, but no car would ever own me."
The car you drive is not the only status symbol that can lure us. There are all kinds of acquisitions and situations that are supposed to make us happier, lights that shine so brightly that is all we can see. We all know communities where status was based in large part upon what club you belong to.
One of the most confusing lights is the dazzling light of the promise of true romance. Romance is always supposed to have fizzle and sizzle, and excitement. I shake my head when on occasion I watch these programs on television where pretty young girls and handsome young men get together. They say there is love there, even though they have just met one another, and then they go off on a trip together. Let me tell you--after the sizzle comes life, and relationships, and patience, and understanding, and forgiveness and forgiveness and forgiveness. The Buddhists have an old phrase, "After the ecstasy, comes the laundry." Life happens!
If these lights cannot lead us to fulfillment, how do we find the real light? We have to go inside, inside to the spirit, inside to the soul. The real journey of life is the interior journey. This is where it all happens. The Spirit of God, the presence of God, is within, and the soul's journey is the seeking of the light of God that is within.
Many of you know the name Paula D'Arcy. She has spoken at Marble Church a number of times--she is a great spiritual presence, a wonderful speaker, a sensitive writer. In one of her recent books, Sacred Threshold: Crossing the Inner Barrier to a Deeper Love, Paula talks about six myths society offered her that for awhile she accepted, until she realized that deep inside, her inner knowledge told her otherwise. Here are her six lies, countered by her inner knowledge:
LIE: A problem is a catastrophe. "Something's wrong when difficulties arise."
INNER KNOWLEDGE: A problem is a summons. A problem is a call to re-examine your life, looking well beneath the surface. A problem is uniquely capable of revealing what needs to change. A problem is the stumbling stone upon which healing may begin.
LIE: Bitterness just happens. Some people are "bitter by nature."
INNER KNOWLEDGE: Bitterness is a choice. We shape our lives by what we pay attention to. Whether or not I am happy is up to me.
LIE: You can attain certainty and control.
INNER KNOWLEDGE: You can only attain the illusion of certainty and control. They aren't real. We live with mystery, which demands trust and great fidelity to deeper truths, not to external reality.
How many gurus there are writing books, on television, on the radio, in churches everywhere, saying you can gain certainty, you can gain control? There is no such thing as being certain and in control. Paula D'Arcy is right; we live with mystery. We must go to a deeper truth, and not depend on an external reality.
LIE: Be productive, and your life will have purpose. Find romance and your life will have meaning.
INNER KNOWLEDGE: Purpose and meaning come from God. Demanding them from any other place will become a false pursuit.
This is a good one. I certainly have believed that lie. There are so many people working hard, being productive, filled with purpose, who then discover that the ladder they are climbing is leaning against the wrong wall.
LIE: You must obey all the "rules." You must stay within bounds.
INNER KNOWLEDGE: Beyond the rules is another realm, waiting to be known. Beyond the bounds of earthly love is where a greater love begins in earnest.
One of Jesus' great statements is, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free." When you discover what your truth is, you will begin to discover what God has in mind for you and what you are called to do. You are free, because you are doing what you are supposed to be doing.
LIE: Life comes at you, and all you can do is dodge the bullets and try to find your way through.
INNER KNOWLEDGE: You pull life toward you. You can create. There is within me that which is greater than my circumstances.
Each of these lies represents a bright light of accepted truth, distracting us so we forget to consult our inner knowledge, our inner light. None of these lies will help us to find our way, and none will lead us deep inside where our greatest understanding lies.
The light of the Christ leads us to our own inner light. Instead of running after the illusory goals society holds out to us, we can listen to Jesus. We can go straight to the scripture and steep ourselves in Jesus, an extraordinary presence. If this seems like too vast a job just take the Sermon on the Mount, Chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the gospel of Matthew. You will learn about humility, about mercy, about being a peacemaker. You will learn about how to pray. Jesus directs us so simply: You go into your room, you close the door, and in secret you tell your Heavenly Father what your desires are and, Jesus says, your Heavenly Father will answer you.
If you become steeped in Jesus, you will discover that you should pray for your enemies, that when you are angry with somebody and want to get back at them, you do something good for them instead. You surprise them, and you surprise yourself; extraordinary things result. When you steep yourself in Jesus, you steep yourself in the ideas of forgiveness, peace, patience, understanding, love, and grace. When you steep yourself in Jesus, you begin to believe that there is someone greater, a power that will make all the difference in the world. Steep yourself in Jesus, and all these confused values of our culture will surrender to the light of God. You will walk in the light; you will begin to glow.
In describing how Jesus related to people, the contemporary spiritual writer Laurie Beth Jones gives us a key to how we also can relate. She said, "He beheld people." When you behold somebody, you have utmost reverence for that person. You hold that person in the light.
Recently I was catching up on the life of a young man from our congregation. He is 23 years old; I first met him when I baptized him as an infant. When he was still a little boy he asked me if we could spend time together, and over the years we have spent days together. When he was seven years old he told me he wanted to become a minister.
He grew up, changed his mind, and became a teacher instead--another form of ministry. He works as a high school teacher at Fordham Prep, a New York preparatory school for boys. I asked him if he had any problems with discipline in his classes, since his students are 17 and 18. Very confidently, he responded, "No."
I was surprised and intrigued. "How come?" I asked.
He explained that before every class he stands at the door and shakes the hand of each arriving student and calls them Mister--Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, etc. "During class, I expect them to call me Mister, and I ask them to address each other as Mister." Do you know why he doesn't have discipline problems in his classes? Because he beholds his students. He holds them up to a higher light, and they respond to it. This is something that all of us can do, and doing this, we can change the world.
In closing, I'd like to quote that wonderful little song from childhood:
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
This little light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.
Amen |
|
|
|
|
|