Matthew 5:14-16--Delivering God's Light

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV, other translations available here)

 

This reading is a fitting end to the series on vocation because it captures the essence of vocation: delivering God’s goodness. Just as light does that by helping folks through the darkness in the world, God has tasked each of us to do that through the vocations He called us to. And just as light helps in all areas of human endeavor, God wants us to have that effect through all the diverse vocations He’s given us, and to do so in all areas of our lives. 

This reading not only gives that assignment, it also gives us two important directions about how to carry it out, albeit by implication.

One is that we must be connected to the source of the light: God.  He Is the light of the world, the source of the light each of us has been called to deliver. John 8:12; Psalm 18:28; Psalm 36:9; Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 6:23.  Just as a light bulb must be connected to a power source, we must be connected to God to exude His light. We do that through prayer, time in God’s word, and worship; those connect us to the power we need to do what He’s called us to. We must stay plugged into Him for His light to shine out of us.

Another implied direction is to address things that obscure God’s light in our lives. We all sin, and that hinders our ability to reflect God’s light, just as smudges on a mirror distort what it reflects. But if “we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us[.]”  1 John 1:9.  We do that by regularly examining our conduct and attitudes to identify where we have fallen short of what God’s word instructs and by confessing those short comings, either directly to God or to one of His minsters. That removes those smudges and enables us to better fulfill the vocations He created us for. As observed elsewhere, that is a lot like restarting a computer; it cleans the bits of dysfunction in our lives that slow or block our fruitfulness, freeing us to more effectively do what God called us to. This discipline will help us to be much brighter light. Some resources to help in that process are available here, here,  and  here.  

(Note: The reformers retained the practices of examination and confession, albeit with some loosening. SeeLuther's Small Catechism, Article XI of the Augsburg Confession, and the thoughtful analysis provided here. Those disciplines are not exclusively Catholic.) 

Prayer:

        Father, thank you for the vocations you have given is. Help us to deliver your goodness through them. To that end, help us to stay plugged into you and to address things that impair our reflecting your light. We ask these things in Jesus’ name.