"For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us."
This morning marks an ending and a beginning-the ending of our Epiphany journey and the beginning of a path that will lead Jesus to the cross. All through Epiphany we have been following the light of Jesus. In Mark's gospel we find that light fully revealed as Peter and James and John witness Jesus as the full reflection of God's light. Paul also talks about the light of God in the epistle text, and I have added the next line about the light of God living in each of us, although in clay jars.
In celebrating Transfiguration this year I am struck by the contrast of light and darkness in Paul's text; and the power of light to shine even through and redeem even our darkest moments. In his book, The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis writes that God's time can work backwards to redeem the hells of our lives. Both personally and corporately that line contains great power for me. On our own we can not undo the wrongs and the hurts and the losses we experience. Yet, in God's light we can find redemption for such times. It may not have been in the way we wanted; nor does it make life any fairer…but I'll take redemption over fairness and wants any day. I found this to be so in attending a memorial service for someone very close to me. The service was appalling and I went away from that time with an even greater sense of loss than when I had arrived. The music was all wrong, the words were wrong, the atmosphere was wrong. I needed to find a way to claim what had been needed in the service, but how. In the end, a way was made-to hear the words of our memorial service liturgy connected to the name of the person and a new sacred space was birthed. Light shining in the darkness, treasure in clay jars.
This morning is designated as Korea Peace Sunday by our Annual Conference. Korea is a country divided since the closing of World War II when the Peninsula was divided by the US and former Soviet Union. North and South Korea are even today technically still at war, although there have been some significant steps towards reducing the hostility between the two nations. North Koreans live under severe poverty and restrictions of freedom. South Koreans have had times of poverty and restrictions as well, although they have not experienced as radical situations as their northern neighbors. Into the darkness of this situation the World Council of Churches has dared to work for reconciliation and peace. Light shining in the darkness, treasure in clay jars.
The scope of weather related disasters this year seems more overwhelming than ever before. Where is hope when we see pictures of our Gulf Coast still looking much the same as they did after the waters subsided in the days following Hurricane Katrina; and further where is justice when we realize much of the areas in New Orleans that are still looking like that are located in the poorest sections of the city. How does a country cope with mudslides that wipe out an entire village, covering a school filled with young children burying them under hundreds of feet of mud. In the midst of it even still we find those who work for restoration and who will be there till the job is done. As United Methodists we know that our relief agencies will be among the last ones there. Light shining in the darkness, treasure in clay jars.
The litany of things dark can be overwhelming and some choose to succumb by saying there is nothing one person can do in the face of great darkness…there is no hope. Our counter to that as God's people is the overwhelming light of God that shines through, even through the frailties and cracks that make up our clay jars. About a year ago, Peter Benenson, the founder of Amnesty International died. He was spurred to action by reading the story of two Portuguese students who had been arrested and imprisoned for drinking a toast to liberty in a Lisbon restaurant. He later wrote:
"Open your newspaper - any day of the week - and you will find a report from somewhere in the world of someone being imprisoned, tortured or executed because his opinions or religion are unacceptable to his government. The newspaper reader feels a sickening sense of impotence. Yet if these feelings of disgust all over the world could be united into common action, something effective could be done."
The symbol of Amnesty International is a candle wrapped in barbed wire. Benenson chose that symbol saying: "Once the concentration camps and the hell-holes of the world were in darkness. Now they are lit by the light of the Amnesty candle; the candle in barbed wire. When I first lit the Amnesty candle, I had in mind the old Chinese proverb: 'Better light a candle than curse the darkness."
For me the candle is a reminder that the light of God is able to shine through even the darkest moments of time…and to know that even there redemption is possible. It does not make such moments fair or right; and we'd rather they not have happened. Yet, we know that even still God's light will prevail, for darkness is no match for it.
This morning in marking the Transfiguration we are given these words from Mark's gospel: "This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to him," and for a moment the light of God reflected in Jesus is revealed in full. Perhaps the real miracle in the moment is that Jesus does not choose to stay on the mountain top, but chooses to walk back down into the darkness and chaos that waits for him…he chooses a way that will make possible God's love and light visible to all.
This morning we gather in the example of Jesus. To proclaim the light of Jesus to the world is not a call of glorification and triumphalism, but a call to service. Our proclamations of the light of God shining through us must be a proclamation that leads us to reach out to those most excluded; those most desperate; those most conflicted. We bring to the world the light of God; knowing that the light will shine through and not be overcome. Go forth to let light shine out of darkness.
Philippines disaster