There’s a TV commercial I’ve seen a bit recently. It starts with a close up of a human eye. Then the voice over says: “Your eyes. Even at a distance of ten miles, the length of 146 football fields your eyes can see the light of a single candle. Your eyes are amazing.” It’s an ad for a multi-vitamin that’s supposed to improve eye health, but it says more to me about light, than about our eyes, however amazing they may be. The power of light. The power of one candle at a great distance to bring light into darkness.
Shakespeare was on to the same idea, long before this TV commercial was created. The quote is from the Merchant of Venice. You don’t need to know the whole story, although maybe you do. It is the last act. Portia is walking towards her home after a very challenging day. Looking from a distance at a candle burning in the window of her home, she exclaims:
How far that little candle throws his beams!The power of just a single candle to bring goodness and light into a dark and naughty world.
So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
Today’s collect is about light. It draws upon imagery from John’s Gospel, although not the Gospel reading for today.
Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ's glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth…Thinking about light I just couldn’t suppress thoughts of the Christian song, “This little light of mine…” The words and music bubbled into my mind and they are still there.
Most of you undoubtedly know the song. I wonder what associations it has for you. I think of it first as a children’s song. In my mind, I hear children’s voices singing it. I associate it with Sunday School or children’s chapel or vacation Bible school. Within that context I think the gift of the light is what we might call Christian self-esteem. The song teaches children that they belong; each of them is a beloved child of God. Each child shines as God’s beloved.
I recently came across another version of the song. As I was preparing for this year’s Feast, which had light as its theme, I found a version of “This Little Light of Mine” sung by Odetta. (A You Tube version is available here.) Odetta just died recently. If you’re not familiar with her, she was an African American singer with a deep, rich, unmistakable voice. She felt called, I think, to sing and share the music of the African American tradition… blues and certainly spirituals. And she sings “This Little Light of Mine” as a spiritual.
That context is perhaps particularly relevant on this weekend when we remember the life and witness of Martin Luther King. I was 9 when King was assassinated. So I don’t really remember most of the historical events that are usually associated with the civil rights movement. But I understand that this song had a place in the civil rights movement. In that setting it seems to be a song about empowerment as people of color struggled to gain dignity and freedom. Even an unjust society cannot quench the Light of Christ burning in the souls of all of God’s children. The Light, and those who bear the light, will shine and prevail.
As I was googling around on the computer I found one other interesting event. I don’t watch late night TV, but evidently Odetta sang “This Little Light of Mine” on Letterman the first night he was back on the air after 9/11. In that context, the light is about resilience. And hope. Even in the darkest of times, the Light of Christ brings resilience and hope.
The gift of the Light of Christ, given to each of us by God. For each of us a symbol of belonging, empowerment and hope.
But do we let it shine? In the collect we pray that we may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory. Yes, the Light is a wonderful gift to us. But as the Body of Christ, as people illumined by the Word of God and the sacraments of the church, we are called to be the light in the world, to share the light with others.
We are called to offer the light of belonging to others… to let others know Christ loves them. And not just children. Tell people that they are beloved of God. Show kindness and respect. Meet others’ needs. Help people know that they are loved as children of God. Share the light. Be forces for empowerment. Be just people in a world in which racism and other forms of subjugation are still very much with us. And live with resilience and hope in a world wracked with division. Be sources of peace and reconciliation in the midst of your daily interactions with others.
And remember, the smallest flicker of a single candle even at a distance can bring the light of Christ into a dark world. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.
