The Light Has Come

The Venerable Joan Clark

Ephesians 3:1-13

As the Magi scanned the heavens they noticed a star brighter than all the others in the night sky. It caught their attention enough to warrant further investigation. They felt as though the star had a message for them. They would follow the star to see where it would lead them. Their journey would cover hundreds of miles as well as a considerable amount of time before they would meet the Christ Child. The star of Bethlehem announced the birth of the Son of God to the world. The Magi were the first outsiders to respond by worshiping the new-born king.

Jesus Christ is the Light of the world. God’s plan of salvation, long devised, has now been revealed to all people. The Light of Christ embraced the apostle Paul. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reminds them of his “commission of grace” to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, those outside of Jewish circles. His epiphany came from divine revelation. Paul who once breathed fire persecuting believers would now spend the rest of his life sharing the gospel with all people.

The mystery once hidden is now out in the open for the entire world. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has come to bring salvation to all people. Paul writes, “In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” Once the people lived in darkness, unaware of God’s grace, but now thanks to God sending Jesus, we live in the light.

It is truly amazing, that God’s plan of salvation would include all people. God has acted, Paul informs his readers, so that “the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” All of God’s promises including the convent made to Abraham and Sarah could now be claimed by the Gentiles. Through Christ they could claim the same inheritance as their Jewish sisters and brothers. They became heirs, members of the same body of Christ. This is truly amazing, even astonishing good news.

There are times in our own lives when we feel down and out. There are times when we struggle over employment or relationship issues. At other times it is health concerns that weigh us down. In those moments it would serve us well to take a breath and remember that we are members of God’s own family. We are strengthened by the knowledge that God loves us so much that God sent Jesus, the Light of the world, to guide us. God in Christ will never desert us. The Ephesians to whom Paul was writing might have viewed themselves as insignificant and unimportant in God’s grand scheme of things, but now they could make an amazing claim — they were a part of God’s own family. They could now stand on the promises made to Abraham and Sarah, and Moses and Miriam. It was a mystery that has now been solved and explained. It was a mystery the people could now embrace. In previous ages this mystery was not revealed but now the secret is out. Epiphany is about sharing the Light of Christ with a world darkened by violence, crime, and broken lives.
 
Bernard describes himself as a man wandering through life with no grounding in a faith community. His family stopped attending church when he was in primary school. As a young adult he was well paid in a distasteful profession that has “only a negative impact on the world.” Barnard enjoyed financial success, but deep down was ashamed of his work. When he and his girlfriend, Catherine, had a son, the birth inspired him to seek a “meaningful positive life.” The couple began looking for a church home in their community.

How do you think people in most churches would react to an unmarried couple with a baby, who benefited financially from an unsavoury occupation? Fortunately the church welcomed them with open arms and did not judge them harshly. They felt loved in that congregation and soon began taking the steps to join the church.

The church required attending classes that Bernard and Catherine at first found intimidating. They continued to feel a sense of shame but committed themselves to the process. They became more than members of the church, their lives were transformed in that Christian community. Bernard says that he found “new perspectives, role models whose example of faith and Christian life” taught him that change was possible. They experienced the love and mercy of God, learned from the Bible, prayer, and sang new songs of faith. Bernard and Catherine were married. Bernard reflects, “If we know God will forgive us, we can begin to forgive ourselves.” Sensing a call to help others, Bernard quit his job and found a job where he serves people.

Sometimes we in the church are guilty of conveying an attitude that we are better than other people. This attitude turns off would-be believers. Paul, however, was clear about his role, identifying himself as a “servant according to the gift of God’s grace.” Jesus reminds us, “The greatest among you will be your servant” (Matthew 23:11). Paul knew his place when he makes the claim that he was, “a prisoner for Christ Jesus, a servant according to the gift of God’s grace.” He also viewed himself as the “very least of all the saints.” In another letter Paul claims to be the “the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (1 Corinthians 15:9). In all we do and say we must point the way to Jesus — the true light, and not to ourselves.

There was a time in Paul’s life when he persecuted Christians. Filled with rage and zeal he set out to rid the world of believers. His entire life was changed after his encounter with Jesus Christ — the Light of the world. Whenever Paul preached or wrote to churches, he always acknowledged God’s amazing grace in his own life.

As a result of his encounter Paul understood his new mission as bringing the gospel to the Gentiles and “to make everyone see what is the plan, of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things.” Paul passionately embraces this new direction in his life, even though he knew it would not be easy. There were times when the other apostles stood in opposition to him. At other times physical harm came to Paul because he proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ. In the first verse Paul writes as a “prisoner for Christ Jesus.” Paul would be arrested and placed in prison but his only crime was his love and devotion to the Lord Jesus. Nothing would stop Paul from sharing the gospel.

We are servants of Jesus Christ, knowing that we belong to him can give each one of us boldness and confidence as we live out our faith. Paul claims that “we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.” Because of our status as God’s own children that can never be taken away from us, we can live triumphant lives in Jesus Christ. As the church we are members of the body of Christ; we have a responsibility to share the good news of our faith with others, “with boldness and confidence.” The season of Epiphany is about telling everyone about Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.

A church conducted a demographic study of their community. The findings surprised the congregation; there were a lot of low-income working single mothers with children living near the church. The leaders of the church met to brainstorm creative ways to reach out to these families. Someone suggested holding a movie night in the church, noting that low income people do not have a lot of discretionary money for such things. They could use their new video projector to show movies in the hall on Friday nights.

Another person suggested that they rent one of those big lighted signs and place it in front of the church to advertise free movie night. Someone else said that they will need food for the children and parents that come. Across the street from the church was a pizza shop. Several members approached the owner, they told their idea to reach out to people in their community. They proposed that if they promised to buy all their pizzas from him, would he sell them at half price?

The pizza shop owner thought it was a great idea to provide a fun evening to families in the community. He proposed that if they placed the name of his shop on the sign in front of the church he would give them all the pizzas they wanted for free. The sign in front of the church was changed to read “free movie night Friday pizza provided by Fred’s Pizza.”

The first Friday night was a success, more people came to enjoy a movie and pizza than they ever expected. The pizza shop owner was also impressed. He told the church leaders that if they would print a flyer advertising Friday night movies and pizza he would include it with every take-out pizza for the next three months free of charge. Thousands of families would be reached. These were the very people the church needed to reach. Research reveals that people age 18 to 45 order pizza at least once a week.

The children who enjoyed the free movie and pizza on Friday nights began attending Sunday school classes; a support group was formed for single mothers, who also began attending worship. That church had been experiencing a decline in membership and attendance for years but now was beginning to grow.

What are some creative ways that we can reach out “with boldness and confidence” to people who are living in our community but do not yet know Jesus?

The mystery long hidden was made known to Paul that included the Gentiles and all people. The mystery is made known so that the church of Jesus Christ will prevail. Groups of believers would gather and form the church, “so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” Nothing will or can stop the church. There might be times when the church loses its focus momentarily, but God always sends people to reform the church. The church of Jesus Christ continues in strength as it has for 2,000 years.

What once was a mystery has now been made known. Jesus the Light of the world has come. We share that light, the good news of the gospel with others “in boldness and confidence through faith in him.” We’ve a story to tell to the nations and it begins with us right where we live. Amen.

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