Light of the World

This is the talk I gave at the Women's Riverside Conference Cluster Gathering at St. Petri yesterday:

During the summer of 2010 my family took a vacation to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We had been there a just a few days enjoying the gorgeous scenery of the area, touring lighthouses and old copper mines. One night my parents, brother and I went to sleep in our camping cabin all seemed quiet and serene. Once the coolness of the night seeped through the windows were able to drift off to sleep, that wonderful blissful sleep that comes only during a carefree vacation. Around 4 in the morning I turned, tangled in my sleeping bag to check my phone and see what time it was. My phone displayed a message that I had missed a call from the Stovers. The Stovers were watching our cat while we were gone. In the stupor of my half sleep I thought “huh, that’s odd” but didn’t think much of it. The next morning we got up and my mom made pancakes on the camp stove and we were sipping our orange juice when the phone rang. Of course since we were in a campground on the edge of a town we had little reception so while my dad was talking to Rick Stover he had to walk around trying to pick up some phone reception.

Rick said that our basement had flooded. Yes we were affected by the great flood of 2010. As many of you know Story City got a huge amount of rain in a very short time. In the middle of the night the Stovers had checked our basement and it was fine. When they came back in about a half an hour our basement had about 10 inches of water. Rick and Nick had to wade through the water to find our cat, Becky. She was huddled up on a shelf in the corner of the basement and the water had just started to reach her. They rescued her and brought her upstairs. And then called us, which was the call I missed at 4am.

Needless to say we packed up all our stuff and headed home. We drove for over 8 hours, leaving behind all the things we had hoped to explore over the next five days. Once we got home we surveyed the damage to our basement. By the time we got home most of the water had drained out, but the walls and floor were still covered in a muddy residue. Our basement is mostly for storage and sewing so we didn’t lose furniture or carpet, but we did find that the force of the water coming up through the drains had knocked over everything that we had stacked down there. I lost my printer, tv, and microwave as well as my current roommates mini fridge that was being stored in our basement for the summer. For a few hours we hauled a lot our belongings up the stairs and into our garage or back yard. Finally we decided to call it a night. All we wanted was a hot shower to wash away the stench and disappointment of the day. But we did not get even warm showers. When the water rushed into our basement it flooded over the pilot light of our water heater. We took cold showers that night and the next day had our plumber Tim Faas come over and check out our water heater. He was able to light the pilot light, but it wouldn’t stay lit for more than a few hours. So even after we had taken all our belongings out of the basement mopped the floor with bleach, washed all the fabric we could save, dried photographs, talked with our insurance rep, sorted through soaking wet tax files, and had the garbage truck stop by and pick up the huge amount of things we had to throw away the affects of the flood was still obvious to us. For the next few weeks every few hours throughout the house you could hear clicking. That would be the sound of my mom down in the basement manually starting the pilot light. It was pretty ridiculous. If you wanted a shower you had to check and see if there was hot water before you got in, if it wasn’t hot the pilot light would have to be relit and we’d have to wait for the water to heat up. Doing dishes or laundry became even more annoying tasks because we were never sure if we had hot water. Weekend my parents were away so my mom explained to me the process of lighting the pilot light, it involved turning a knob waiting, clicking a button until the pilot light lit then still holding the button for a while longer to make sure enough gas was getting to the flame. All this being done down on all fours forehead against the floor peering into the water heater to see the flame. Well what do you know, after my parents were gone for a few hours I need to do some laundry, but after 15 minutes of trying to light the pilot light I called my mom, she talked me through it again and I tried for 15 more minutes then I gave up and called Tim. He came over and got it lit, and ordered us a new part for out water heater so we wouldn’t have to deal with relighting it so often.

It is uncomfortable to shower in water that isn’t warm, it’s hard to get dishes, laundry and hands clean without hot water. It still amazes me that that little tiny pilot light was responsible for so many things that go on in my house. That little light helped heat the water that supplied cleansing water to my family. Just as my family’s water heater pilot light was responsible for heating the water that went to the sinks and shower in my house Christ has given us his light to share with the world. I’m sure we can all remember that song “This little light of mine.” Many of us probably learned it in Sunday School along with the actions. One of the lines of the song says “hide it under a bushel? No!! I’m gonna let it shine.” Growing up I thought that was such a silly line. Why in heaven’s name would I put a light under a bushel? It doesn’t make sense to cover up the light. The line from this song may have come from Luke 11:33 which says “No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.” My seven year old self only seeing the completely literal meaning of this song didn’t find it difficult. But now that I’m a 20 year old college student it is not as easy to do what Jesus said. But Jesus never said that being a Christian would be easy. In Matthew 24:9 Jesus says “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.” I do not live in fear of being put to death for my faith, although many Christians around the world do, I mostly just worry about losing face. I wonder if I reveal my faith to the people in my classes or at work that someone will think I’m silly for believing in Jesus Christ as my savior. I sometimes find it easier to hide my light under a basket than let it shine on a stand so that all may see it.

In Matthew 5:13 Jesus has this to say: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. I just love that metaphor in this verse. I am a food science major so I geek out about this stuff. Salt is so important in cooking. Salt enhances the flavor of whatever you put it in, that’s why food tastes bland without it. Salt is even important in chocolate chip cookies, it rounds the flavors and make the cookie taste even better. In our bodies salt is broken up into Sodium and Chloride which are electrolytes which are important for maintaining fluid balance, blood pH, and nerve and muscle functions. Salt is also used in the food world as a preservative. Before there were ways of preserving meat by refrigeration people would put tons of salt on meat that no microorganisms could grow, therefore preserving it. Salt is in a lot of our foods today both for flavor and preservation. Jesus calls us to be salt for the earth, to season it with his love. That people would come to know Christ through how we live. Even though Christ ascended into heaven we can preserve his presence on earth though our actions by following the lead of the holy spirit and living as Christ did.

In continuation of the salt verse Jesus has more to say about how we should live on earth in Matthew 5:14-16 : “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. “ One of the original Greek words that is translated to light in English means “to shine or manifest, especially by rays. So in verse 14 Jesus is saying we are rays of light to the world. Just as we wouldn’t enjoy the rays of light on earth without the sun, people can’t see our faith without God who is the creator and perfecter of our faith. It also shows community, we are one ray among many rays of light, God has given us our Christian brothers and sisters as partners in the mission of Christ.

Luke 17:5-6 reads: The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" The Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you." Our faith is more powerful than we can imagine. Not by our power but by the power of Christ whose light lives within us. Through Christ’s assurance I am reminded that my light is his light. We have no reason to be ashamed of Jesus Christ who raised us from death into life and has given us hope beyond hope. Like the tiny pilot light has the power to fill a house with hot water we have the power to shine for Jesus living and loving others as he did.