The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany - The Rev. Colette Hammesfahr
Matthew
5: 13-20, February 8, 2026
Famed Civil Rights Activist and
congressman from Georgia, John Lewis, wrote these words: “I ask you to reach
down inside yourself, and find the truth your life is compelling you to see.
That is your road to true peace, and it is the beginning of the evolution of
humankind. Because every change in the world starts within. It begins with one
individual who envisions his or her micro-universe the way it can be, and
settles for nothing less. And as one individual moves towards the light, that
light ignites more individual flames and eventually the revolutionary inner
work becomes a transformative outer work that builds into a bonfire of light,
the kind of light that can change the world. It starts from within, with one
individual who seeks the way of peace. Will you be that person?”[1]
Our reading from Matthew today comes
immediately after Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus’ famous sermon, where we
hear what we’ve come to know as the Beatitudes – those blessings Jesus speaks
of as he sits among his disciples and a crowd. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
will see God.” They are contrasting statements of who is truly fortunate and
who is not. And then, Jesus tells his listeners that they are the salt of the
earth and the light of the world.
I’ve been thinking a lot about his
statement, “You are the light of the world,” and what that means to us. Maybe
it’s because of the funeral last Saturday for The Reverend Liam Collins. Over
the past year, I had the honor of sharing communion many times with Liam, his
wife Mary, his caregiver, Jackie, and Mary’s sister, Julie. Several times,
before I left, we would all sing This
Little Light of Mine. As we would all sing together, with our pretend
candles waving in the air, Liam would belt out, “I’m gonna let it shine!” just
at the appropriate time. What a joy it was to share those moments with them.
When planning Liam’s funeral, Mary asked Bishop Logue if it would be suitable
for the recessional song to be This
Little Light of Mine. Why wouldn’t that be an appropriate song? Those of
you who attended the funeral surely felt the love and joy in the church as we
sang the words, “I’m gonna let it shine.”
Jesus says, “You are the light of
the world.” You…and you, and you, and you. Not “we.” Each one of you,
individually, is a light that shines in the world.
There is a lot to say about light. The
Luxor Sky Beam on the Las Vegas Strip claims to be the brightest human-made
light in the world. The beam that lights from the top of the giant pyramid
hotel into the night sky produces a light equal to 42.3 billion candles. At
high altitude, the beam can be seen by aircraft from 275 miles away. Light is
energy. Light reflects off objects, allowing us to see. We can experience the
properties of light through warmth on our skin. The brighter the light source,
the farther light travels. Light is said to conquer darkness and to bring order
out of chaos.
Light is an essential theme
throughout the bible. God said, “Let there be light.” “Where God is, there is
light. Where God is not, there is darkness.” Jesus, the son of God, is the true
light, and it’s his light that shines in us. Jesus says, “You are the light of
the world.” Jesus expects us to be the light of the world, a light that points
to Him. Just as the Luxor Sky Beam spreads light into the sky, we are to spread
light into the world. Spread Jesus’ light into the world. Jesus warns us that
if we keep our faith to ourselves, just as a light that may be kept under a
basket, we are of no use to the world. A light kept under a basket is only good
in that room and eventually goes out. However, a light put up high can light up
an entire house.
John Lewis wrote: “And as one
individual moves towards the light, that light ignites more individual flames
and eventually the revolutionary inner work becomes a transformative outer work
that builds into a bonfire of light, the kind of light that can change the
world. It starts from within, with one individual who seeks the way of peace.
Will you be that person?” Will you be that person?
When Jesus speaks to the crowd and
to us, he begins with our identity, not with an instruction. “You are the light
of the world.” He is not asking us to create light, but to live out what God
has already placed within us. As Lewis writes, the work “starts from within.”
The light is already there; the question is whether we will move toward it or if
we’ll keep it hidden.
Jesus’ images -- a lamp on a stand,
a city on a hill – teach us that light is meant to be visible and shared.
Light, by its nature, multiplies. One flame does not diminish another; it
increases the brightness of the whole space. Think about Christmas Eve, when
the two torch bearers light the first candles in the first pew. The light from
that candle is passed along from one person to another. Suddenly, the church is
so bright; when we turn off all the lights, the room is illuminated… all
beginning with two torchbearers sharing their light with another. Lewis’s
language of “individual flames” becoming a “bonfire of light” names what Jesus
envisions when he speaks of light shaping an entire community.
Most importantly, Jesus ties light
directly to lived action: “Let your light shine before others, so that they may
see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” The inner
work—conversion of our hearts, clarity of our purpose, commitment to God’s
way—becomes a transformative outer work. Not for self-glorification, but so
that God’s life is made visible in the world.
Lewis’s final question—“Will you be
that person?”—is Jesus’ question in Matthew 5.
Will you: Refuse
to hide what God has given you? Trust that even one faithful life matters? Believe
that small, visible acts of goodness can ignite something larger than yourself?
Will you be that person? Let’s begin today. Amen.
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