Creekside Church Sermon of March 10, 2002 "Are You A Luminary? " Ephesians 5:8-14	Rev. David Bibbee
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Are you a luminary? It all depends upon what a luminary is you are probably thinking. It is not a word we use in daily conversation. It almost sounds like an exotic species of canary, but it isn't a bird. It is not those paper bags with sand and candles in them which some of you may line your driveway or front walk with on Christmas Eve. Luminary…one definition is "someone who is brilliantly outstanding in their chosen field." But the definition of interest to us this morning is, "A body that gives light." A luminary illumines the lives of others. Wherever they are or whatever they do, the light is shed and shadows flee. No matter how little the light may be, it is able to hold back the dark.

George Bernard Shaw wrote a play called Man and Superman in which the man playing the lead role said this about the influence of our lives:

I want to be fully used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

These vivid words should be at home in the mouths of Christians who desire to discover what is pleasing to the Lord. Life is no brief candle. At our baptism, the dark, shadowy part of our lives was thrust under water and swept away by the strong and steady current of God's grace. When we came out of the water we were handed a splendid torch. But the torch is given not just to illumine our path with the light of Christ.

Christians are not better than other people. They are better informed. That is the difference. Christians are not better; they know something others don't know. They see things more clearly. They know who lights the way and they know it is the responsibility of those who have received the light to shine for those who haven't.

To appreciate our text from Ephesians, it is important to know that it likely came from a baptismal sermon that was preached to Christian converts at their initiation into the church. Verse 14 includes a fragment of a hymn that was sung, telling the converts to rise from the dead and allow Christ to illumine them. In Ephesians 5:8 there is an interesting choice of words. "For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord, you are light." The author didn't say, "You were in darkness." It doesn't say you were like darkness. It doesn't say you reflect light. It says you were darkness. Now you are light. What comes from us is what we are.

This week I listened to an interview with a renowned playwright. He was asked if his plays had a common goal. He replied, "any good play is written to achieve the same thing…movement. The play must move the audience. "Don't leave the people where you found them." he said. The person who leaves should somehow be different for having been there. "Once you were darkness, but since you have handed your life to Christ, you are light."

I can't recall the theologian who said, "Oughtness is a result of Isness." Who you are determines what you will do. When we decided to become Christians and were baptized, our darkness was drown…plunged under three times just to be sure. When you surfaced you became light, and were given an assignment…a whole-life long one described in the old hymn, "Christian Let Your Burning Light." You remember the words… "As you journey here below, shed a ray whe-e'er you go. Find in this your pure delight, let your lamp shine clear and bright."

Not long ago I spoke with a pastor who left parish ministry to become a hospital chaplain. As we talked in the hospital stairwell, I asked him what is different about ministry in the church and in the hospital. "That's easy," he said. "In the church I was so wrapped up in the needs of church people and managing church business that I never noticed how dark it is. I was so 'churchified' I was losing sight of those the church exists to reach. I talk with people every day in this hospital, who know nothing about the church or Christianity, and haven't a clue of where to turn in times of need except to themselves. I came to the realization that most of my ministry was spent trying to move hardened church hearts while many people with hungry hearts are groping in the dark, searching for a light and don't know how to find it."

Have you noticed how dark it is? Have you noticed how hard it is to find a television program that isn't about sex and human dysfunction? It seems the only place producers can find new material is by scraping the bottom of the barrel. After the promos for soon to be released movies and TV. programs, Twig and I will sometimes say, "I think it's getting darker." How many wars are being waged right now? Our country is in a war against terrorism. The majority of Americans say we should spend whatever it takes to rid the world of evil people. Billions upon billions of dollars will be spent to unleash terror upon terrorists to teach them that terrorism is wrong. We will spend whatever it takes to kill it, yet we can only manage to scrape together a fraction of a slice of that amount to address the poverty and despair that is the soil from which hatred and terrorism sprout.

In the opening of John's gospel he said of Jesus, "What came 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." We are here because in one way or another we were drawn to the light of Christ. Perhaps you are here because you're tired of darkness and need light to see where to go. Perhaps you still haven't seen it, but hope that you will keeps bringing you back.

I suspect most of us became Christians because we were attracted to Jesus' light in someone else. These luminaries were windows. Windows see nothing of themselves. Windows allow light to shine through. The windows' purpose is to be seen through to a bigger world. Through the window of people's lives we are drawn to Jesus Christ. But has anyone come to Jesus through your illumination? This is something to think about. As we journey here below do we shed a ray whe-e're we go, or do we close the window blinds?

When people talk about problems their churches face, it doesn't take long for someone to assign blame to the outside influences that are pounding at the door. History teaches otherwise. When the church was most threatened, Christians didn't snuff the light. It shined brighter and brighter and the church multiplied. The threat isn't from outside the church, it's from the inside.

Someone said, "I could believe in Christ…if not for his leprous bride, the church, which he insists on dragging behind him." The biggest obstacle for those in the dark is not Christ, but Christians. The behavior of Christians has great bearing on the amount of light available to hold back the dark, and still we remain the ones to whom Jesus has entrusted the church.

I read a story written by a pastor who was touring in Scotland. One day he entered a beautiful Scottish cathedral. He was the only one there at the time so he walked through the vast edifice. He made his way down the center aisle, awed by the stained glass and the high vaulted ceilings. He walked into the chancel area and looked at the winding staircase which led to a high pulpit. Looking up into the pulpit he saw a small brass plaque, as any preacher would do, he climbed the stairs, and stood in the pulpit, looked out over the huge sanctuary and thought how inspiring it would be to preach in such a place.

He had not read the plaque, but assumed it was probably engraved with words he had seen in so many pulpits…words from the gospel of John, "Sir, we would see Jesus." He took a deep breath to send his voice echoing in that vast space, the words that he thought were on the plaque. But when he looked down it wasn't, "Sir, we would meet Jesus." It read instead, "Remember Edna Bailey." Who was Edna Bailey? A prominent person in the church. The pulpit was probably given as a memorial to her. But why would anyone want to remember Edna Bailey when it was Jesus they came to meet?

(Pastor David did not provide a written ending to this sermon.)

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