Here is what Jesus says to his disciples, when he tells them he wants them to be lights to the world: “A city that is set on a hill top cannot be hidden.” Those would have been quite familiar words, I think, to those who heard him. Jewish teachers and preachers would have used a phrase like ‘light of the world’ quite a lot. It would have been used of Jerusalem itself, for this was famously a city built on a hill-top, and the holy city, was to be a light to the nations, so that people from across the world would be drawn to it. And the same phrase, ‘light of the world’ would have been used of a great and respected teacher: we find noted rabbis described as ‘lamps of Israel’.
This was also a phrase used of Jesus himself. Last Thursday the Church marked the feast of Candlemas, recalling how old Simeon in the temple, on seeing the child Jesus, recognised him as the one born to be ‘a light to lighten the gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel,’ words sung at evensong as the anthem the Nunc Dimmitis. And Jesus uses the same phrase of himself: in St John’s Gospel, chapter 9 verse 5, we find him saying, “For as long as I am in the world, I am this world’s light.”
Now that surely means that when Jesus tells his disciples to be ‘lights to the world’, he is saying, “Be like me, and take a full share in my ministry.” Last Sunday at Chirbury our Candlemas service ended at the font; Candlemas is traditionally one of the occasions in the Church year when we think about our baptismal promises which are about discipleship, setting ourselves to follow. When a child is baptized (or an adult, indeed), we give a candle, with the words, ‘Shine as a light in the world, to the glory of God the Father’.
To the glory of God the Father. A great Jewish rabbi might be a lamp of Israel, but the light with which he shines is not his own. We shine as we reflect the light of God, not seeking our own glory, but giving glory to the one to whom it rightly belongs.
And people will be drawn to the Holy City, says the prophet Isaiah, not by its own glory but by God’s glory. “God lit the lamp of Israel,” as a Jewish proverb said. Israel was called to be radiant with the glory of her Lord. We sometimes use the phrase ‘radiant with joy,’ perhaps of a bride at her marriage; as people of God we as disciples are called to bear a joyful witness to God, and to be radiant with a joy that is kindled by the love of Christ within our hearts.
In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, Paul writes: “The God who said, ‘Out of darkness shall light shine’ has caused his light to shine in our hearts, the light which is the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” He goes on to say, “We have only earthenware jars to hold this treasure, and this proves that such transcendent power does not come from us, but is God’s alone.” Our faith should be visible; here is where the mission of the Church begins. And light is a positive force to make life better and richer, safer and more beautiful. A city set on a hill-top can’t be hidden - but what should the effect of its shining be?
Here are three things that occur to me, beginning with this: a city shines in order to confront and challenge. The self-governing city states of old needed to be visible enough to challenge and subdue the opposition of rivals. Christians are called on to be a prophetic presence in the world, and that may mean an unsettling presence. Light exposes and reveals what is dark, what people might prefer stayed covered up. As Christians we don’t have a ministry of being uncritically nice in the world; we are called to a ministry of knowing exactly what we stand for, and who we stand for, and being unafraid therefore to stand against what’s wrong in the world. Light does not accommodate darkness, but challenges it and drives it back. Where the world is dark, where love is denied and need goes unnoticed, where hurts are unhealed and the weak are exploited and abused, and where we are thoughtless and careless in our use of the world, there’s a need for more light.
So light shines to expose and reveal and correct. But the city set on a hilltop must also shine with confidence. We know that we stand in a good place. To be bold in standing against what’s wrong in the world, we must also have confidence in the rock on which we stand. Where we are built Christ himself is our chief corner stone - where better could we stand? As we stand firmly in this faith, meeting our Lord in prayer and praise, in the study of his word, and in openness to his Spirit, we shall shine with his light.
And if we’re shining to challenge, and shining with confidence, we shall thirdly be shining with the light of charity and care. We’re here not for ourselves but for others. Jesus never said, “Shine as a light to the church,” he said, “Shine to the world”. Shine as a guiding light to those who need to find their way, and as a sign of healing and renewal to those whose hearts are broken. The light with which we shine is the light of charity.
Charity can be a misused word, I suppose. Christian charity should never be a gift made from what we might have left over at the end of the day (and perhaps a grudging gift at that). In scripture the word charity is always used of love in action. Charity is love without boundary or fear, love that seeks to transform and change what without it will be cold and dark and sad. And charity is the foremost of the gifts of the Spirit, and therefore the essential mark of the Kingdom which Christ came to proclaim. Only when the Church is living in the Kingdom and seeking to establish Kingdom values in the world can it truly claim to know its Lord.
So we’re to shine with challenge, with confidence and with charity. And it’s in charity that those other two things are based. In our love for others we prove and proclaim the truth of who we are and what we believe. For all the Law is summed up in these words: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength; and love your neighbour as yourself.” Shine as lights to the world; for a city set on a hilltop cannot be hidden.
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