Isaiah 58:7-10
1 Cor 2:1-5
Matthew 5:13-16
Bishop Untener's Homily
"Messy things" in our Surroundings
I want first of all for us to think together about things that are part of our normal life and can become cluttered, messy. For example a garage. A garage has a way of gradually becoming cluttered. Help me out here. Let's brainstorm some things that are part of our life - like a garage - that tend to become messy. Raise your hand and give me some ideas.
- Your room. That's why I move every 4 months. I never have to clean my room.
- The basement. Somehow basements can become a mess. The same thing happens with attics.
- A kitchen table drawer. That's an amazing thing. Every kitchen seems to have one drawer that's so stuffed you can hardly close it. Sometimes you can't open it!
- The trunk of your car. I can identify with that one.
Okay. There are things in our immediate surroundings that can become a mess. When the garage or basement or our room becomes a mess, what do we eventually do about it? Well, we decide one day to start to clean it up. We simply "start" and that first step is the hard part.
"Messy things" in our World
Now, let's take that up a notch. What are some things in our world that are in a mess? Let's think of some of those.
- The economy. Yes. The economy right now is in a bit of a mess.
- Crime. True. That's a major problem in our world.
- Drug traffic. No question about it. This is a huge problem, and no one seems to know what to do about it.
- Sexual standards. I agree with that. It's creating a lot of problems.
- Children without a mother and a father. Or, a very young single parent who can't support a child and really doesn't know how to raise a child.
- Terrorism. No question about that. It's a major problem as we live and breathe right now.
Okay. We talked about what to do when our garage is in a mess. But what about the messes in the world? What do we do about that? That's where it gets hard, doesn't it. You don't know what to do. It can seem hopeless. And we can feel helpless.
What Did Jesus Do About It?
Well, Jesus became part of this world. What did he do about it? He came into this world, not to destroy it, but to begin to set it right. Listen to what he said about himself in John's Gospel: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (Jn 8:12) Jesus came to overcome the "darkness" - which is an image for all that is evil in our world.
On another occasion, when he met the man born blind, Jesus said again: "I am the light of the world." (Jn 9:5) And John himself said about Jesus at the beginning of the Gospel that Jesus was "the light of the human race... the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."(Jn 1:4-5)
But the "light of the world" died on the cross in about 30 A.D. Where does that leave us? Was that the end?
The Death of Jesus: An Ending or a Beginning?
We just heard those astounding words in today's Gospel. Jesus, who said of himself, "I am the light of the world," points to his disciples, to you and to me, and says: "You are the light of the world." Can you imagine that! He says the same thing about us that he says about himself.
How can that be? Well, it's not hard to figure out. When Jesus rose from the dead, he breathed his own Spirit upon his disciples, and he continues to do that in Baptism, Confirmation, and in all the sacraments... and in other ways besides. We have the life and light of Jesus within us - the light that overcomes darkness.
So it isn't hopeless. We aren't helpless in the face of the massive evils in our world. We have God's life, God's light within us, for we are daughters and sons of God. We are called upon to do what Jesus came to do. The work of Jesus is still going on, and it's happening through us.
We have a hard time believing this because it seems so far beyond us. How can I have any effect? I can clean a garage. But this whole world??!!
Now keep this in mind. For God, the size of the world, of the whole universe, is about the size of a garage. We tackle it the same way we tackle the clutter in a garage. We can't do it in a day, or even in our lifetime. But we can be part of it, and that's what God calls us to do. We’re called to be part of the great task that Jesus began, and which Jesus continues through us.
We've got that light within us. The only question is, are we willing to be part of this? Are we willing to let the "light" of God shine through us in our words and actions - in everything we do? Are we willing to live up to the task given to us at baptism?
The Lenten Season
Lent begins this Wednesday. And Lent is all about getting in touch with our baptismal roots. Lent is all about getting back to basics - that we were called to be disciples of Jesus and, like them, to be part of what he came to do. At our Baptism we were called and sent, just as he sent his disciples out two by two during his lifetime. At our Baptism, a small candle was lit from the Paschal Candle, which represents the Risen Christ, and this lit candle was handed to us (for most of us it was handed to our parents or godparents who accepted it on our behalf) and we were told to let this light shine.
During Lent we trim the wick of that candle and clear away the wax that has built up and threatens to snuff out the fire. Lent is all about cleaning up whatever is a mess in our own life so that we can bring goodness to whatever evils surround us, so that our baptismal light can shine and overcome whatever darkness is there in a given day.
I call upon us to take Lent seriously. It is meant to be an intensive six weeks. We all need it, every year, because the messes of this world infect us too, and we need to do some cleaning in our own lives.
My Light Isn't That Strong
One final thought. I know what you're all thinking. You're saying something like, "Well, I'm not that good. I don't have any great light to bring to the darkness of this world. What difference could it possibly make in this huge world?" Well, let me tell you a true story.
In 1989 I was in Menlo Park California (just south of San Francisco) when the great earthquake hit - the most recent large earthquake in that area. It hit at about five in the afternoon. I was making some presentations to a group of priests who had gathered at the seminary there, and when it hit, we all got out of the building as fast as we could. I had never been in an earthquake, but they had, and they knew that the first thing you do is get out of any large building in case it falls collapses like the Twin Towers.
So there we were, all standing outside. We saw the power lines flashing - the electricity was out everywhere. We heard sirens everywhere, and we just waited to see what would happen.
They knew there would be after-shocks, and sometimes a building that had been weakened by the earthquake, could come down because of one of the after-shocks. And the after-shocks came, and the large building where we were staying still stood. And it began to get dark - very, very dark because there was no electricity anywhere. Hours later - it was maybe 10:00 that night - some said that we may as well go back into the darkened building and try to get some sleep, and if we felt an after-shock, we should get out right away.
Well, I was a stranger to this place. I didn't know if I could find my room in total darkness. Or, if I did find it, I didn't know if I could get out if there was a major after-shock. I was wondering about this when a priest came over to me and he had this little key chain with a small light on it. If you squeezed it, this little light shone. I still have it - I keep it in my center desk drawer as a memento. Here it is... and you can see that it still works. It's really only a small glow, a dim light, not what you'd call the beam of a flashlight.
But let me tell you. This little light meant everything to me that night. I could find my way to my room, and I knew that I could get out of my room if I had to. For me, this little light helped to overcome the "evil" of the great earthquake.
I don't keep many mementos. But I kept this one. And it's always reminded me of that simple song: "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine... let it shine, let it shine, let it shine."
So don't any of you say, "My light isn't bright enough." Jesus didn't ask us to be great searchlights reaching into the sky for miles. He only asked that we bring light, not darkness, to our world. We probably should have those words on our bathroom mirror: "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine."
Originally given on February 10, 2002