February 5, 2023: The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 58: 1 – 9
Psalm 112
1 Corinthians 2: 12-16
Matthew 5: 13-20
Fr. Gary W. Thurman
We are in the midst of a society today that loves things to be big. Before, people would go for cosmetic surgery to remove a ‘little bit’ of things in their body – nose, tummy, double chin. Today, people like to add a lot of big stuff in their bodies: lips, etc, etc. In the middle of the 20th century, one of the pioneers of the evening variety show, Ed Sullivan, started every show saying, “We really have a big show in store for you tonight!” Everything is coming out big like biggie drinks, biggie fries; go big or go home. Things need to be big for a reason: if you don’t get big, you don’t get noticed.
Jesus says, “You are the light of the world.” We would think that we’ve got to shine big, but Jesus never really said that we need our light to be bigger. After all, He is the light of the world. If we would compare Him to the sun, we are the sunbeams. We don’t need to be bigger. We have the sun behind us.
In the gospel, Jesus said that we don’t need to get more light; we need to hide it less. Don’t hide the light under the bushel. Don’t hide the lamp under the bed. Our problem is not that we don’t have enough light. The problem is we hide it too much. Sometimes, we hide our light by trying to be big. We try so hard to be big that we block the light just like it was hidden under a bushel.
Psalm112 and Isaiah 58 talked about God’s people being light, and the Pharisees were convinced that they were the light of the world. Thinking they were the light, they thought they were saving Judaism from this nasty false Messiah that they called Jesus.
St. Paul was talking to the Philistines in Romans 2:17-24 saying, “But if you bear the name “Jew” (Pharisees) and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know his will and approve the things that are essential being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? ‘ For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ just as it is written.”
The problem with the Pharisees was that they were trying to do it big; they were not minimalist. They were not shy; everything they did was super big. In doing so, they began to block the light of God. They were like screaming what they were doing with their lives all to be seen by men. They prayed longer prayers. Sometimes people pray with 3% prayer, 20% sermon, and the rest is all sorts of things, and this is how the Pharisees prayed. The Pharisees travelled over land and sea shouting where they were going unmindful about the neighbor who had a need. They wanted big missionary trips however many miles it would take. The Pharisees liked long robes because during that time, the longer the robes, the higher their office. They loved greetings in the market place to prove that they know people. They liked to take chief seats to be seen. In all that, they wanted to do things big so much so that they were blocking the light of God shining through them.
In Matthew 5:16, Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men so that everyone would see the good works and glorify Your Father in heaven.” But a few verses after this, Jesus instructs how to pray, to fast, and how to give: privately, without a show. In interceding, we need not pray a long one after we have made our intercessions as we may be talking to ourselves like what the Pharisees did. When we give alms, we bring it to the altar, not to broadcast what we are giving. When we fast, don’t make it a show. We dishonor God when we are faking all that we do, proclaiming to shine the light but the light is all about us, no longer God, and we block the light of God.
In Matthew 5:20, Jesus says, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Isaiah 58 boldly says to stop doing all things for our personal advancement so that God will hear us. Do not put a show! If we are to be the light of the world, we need to do these things - starting with verse 6, “Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Jesus wanted to break the bondage of oppression of Laws that the Pharisees wanted the people to keep. Isaiah says in order for the people to be really heard by God, through fasting, do away with these oppressive Laws. It continues, “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked to cover him; and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? We need to do these things. All the things that we think we are doing right may be blocking the light of God.
The most important keyword in Isaiah 58 is the word ‘then’. If we do what it says in verses 6-7, Verse 8 says, “THEN your light will break out like dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your read guard. THEN you will call and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say ‘Hear I am.’” It continues in verse 10 says, “And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, THEN you light will rise in darkness.” It is walking in God’s ways, not the big thing that bring glory to us. If we follow God, His glory will be behind us.
Psalm 112:4 says, “Light arises in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous.” When we are upright, the light arises on us and we will be the light of the world. When we are gracious, compassionate and righteous, the light in us goes out shining like nothing else. The word “upright” in Hebrew literally means straight, not crooked, twisted or seething deception. It is saying what we mean; meaning what we say; doing what Jesus said. It is not trying hard to do anything for our benefit. In Scriptures, “gracious” literally means to bend or to stoop. When we are bending or stooping, it is not just for God but for those who are children, the impoverished and the needy. It is to show favor and bestow mercy and this brings the light and sends it forth.
In the word “compassion”, ‘com’ means together. We cannot have compassion by ourselves. Compassion means to come with passion for and with other people. We have concern for others. We cannot be isolated like a hermit and shining our light. When we are compassionate, it is shining our lights to others with others. We, as a Church, come together and share Christ’s passion and the love of God to each other and with each other.
We are also are to be righteous. It is a right standing with God and it is also being in harmony with God’s purposes for His creation, for His kingdom and for us. It is being where He wants us to be and fulfilling the ministry that He gave us. Doing this, it will be His light coming through us, and all men will see our good deeds of uprightness, graciousness, compassion, and righteousness. and glorify our God in heaven.
What is the best way to make our light shine to what it is ought to be and make a difference in the community that is around us? Everything I said is wrapped up in five words: “The Every Day Kingdom Way.” One is participation where we have the personal application of the Word of God; it is the personal relationship that we have with God. This was lacking in the Pharisees and this is the reason they did not recognize Jesus. They did have it with Moses, but the bad news is that Moses had been dead for a long time.
Living the Every Day Kingdom Way is active involvement. Involvement calls for compassion for the other members of the Church, the people in the Kingdom of God. Be involved in the works of the Church, not just the works that give ourselves glory and praise. When we help someone who is poor to find a living, when we feed the hungry, we have broken the bondage.
Another Kingdom way living is generosity. It is supporting the Church’s ministries. It is not to boast of what we have done. We do it without letting others know what we have done and this causes to make our light shine.
Kingdom way is active discipleship. Jesus told us to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We cannot have discipleship outside the Church because it is in the Church that disciples mature. It is only in the Church that converts can become disciples. The last Kingdom way living is evangelism. Think of our neighbors, the community near our Church and let God’s light shine through us to them.
Another way to look at making our light what it ought to be is “To know God and to Make Him Known. To know God is where we know the Lord through His Word, through our prayer; to know God is God filling us with His light. To make Him known is taking this light shining to every part of the earth. Stop blocking the light. We say, “Lord, fill me that I may shine.” We do these with even the little things that we do. We bow and stoop down helping the needy, the poor and the oppressed.
We have been called to be the light in the kingdom of God. Let us not hide our light anymore. Let our light shine and illuminate the glory of God for His purposes.
