Light

Matthew 4:12-23
Gospel Reading for the Third Sunday after Epiphany (Year A)

The lamp in my childhood bedroom looked like balloons. I cannot remember if someone was holding the balloons; whether it was a clown or a child or if the balloons were hanging by themselves. My memory of what the lamp looked like is fading. But I can close my eyes and see the light that it gave off. A warm reddish-orange glow.

When one is a small child, those bedside lamps are like a security blanket. It pushes away the mysterious and foreboding darkness. The light chases monsters. It is a reminder that your room is still your room no matter how many shadows make it look otherwise. And in a way, the light can be a beacon left there by the grownups in your life. Mom and Dad turned the lamp on and the light was like their lingering presence through the night.

As I got older, I didn’t need the lamp as much. It eventually became a light by which to read books before I went to bed. Eventually the dark did not scare me that much anymore and I would turn off the light to sleep. The lamp had done what it needed to do. It had shown me that the world was not as scary as I had thought and in a way that light had turned from something in a balloon lamp by my bed to something inside of me. I didn’t outgrow it. In a way, I carried it with me.

I still need the light to see. There are times when the darkness is too overwhelming and it makes me sad or scared. I do not glow. But enough of that light has been placed within me that I can navigate the darkness. I can still see its warm reddish-orange glow. It makes me feel a little less alone.

It is not a perfect parallel. Illustrations and metaphors rarely are. Yet in this Matthew passage, we are introduced to the ministry of Jesus: the great light of the world. The people walking in darkness have seen this glow and it is like a new day. He pushes the foreboding darkness away. He helps people to see that the world is the world no matter how the shadows may make it look otherwise. He is God’s beacon placed on earth to let us know that we are not alone.

Jesus then begins to put the light in others. Or helps them uncover the light that was already there. He begins to call others to follow him. The light spreads. Just a few verses after this, the Great Light of the World turns to a crowd of and says to them, “You are the Light of the World.” We still need the light of God to see. There are times that the darkness is too overwhelming and we need to see the light outside of ourselves. But God has placed this light within us through Jesus and it can help us navigate the darkness.

I do not always remember what I felt when I first decided to follow Jesus at the age of seven. Sometimes it can be quite difficult to be honest. But if I close my eyes, I can still see the glow. I can still feel the love for Jesus who showed me light. Who still is that beacon of God’s love and can chase away the darkness that makes me sad and scared. I can still see the glow.