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| St- Andre-Rublev's Saviour |
Holy Redeemer
In the care of the Ecumenical Franciscan Order
Homily preached
at Winmalee:
9th February 2014, by Br Luke efo
Matthew 5:1-12.
Sometime
the lectionary compiler’s linkages between the readings is hard to grasp, but
today it is very easy. The common theme is the idea that our actions, understanding
and will reveal that which God has graced us with, and how we live.
Isaiah
tells the people: 7 Isn't it to distribute your bread to the hungry,
and that you bring the poor who are cast out to your house? When you see the
naked, that you cover him; and that you not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8
Then your light will break out as the morning, and your healing will appear
quickly; then your righteousness shall go before you; and the LORD’s glory will
be your rear guard.”
The
psalmist says in verse 4 of today’s Psalm “Light dawns in the darkness for the
upright, gracious, merciful, and righteous.”
St
Paul perhaps being a little mystical tells the Corinthians: “9 But
as it is written, “Things which an eye didn't see, and an ear didn't hear,
which didn't enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who
love him.”
This
brings us to Jesus who, Matthew tells said “14 You are the light of
the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. 15 Neither do
you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it
shines to all who are in the house. 16 Even so, let your light shine
before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is
in heaven.”
I
will return to this, but firstly I want to digress for just a minute.
Jesus
also talks about salt. Why salt? In the ancient times salt was a valuable
commodity, it was also used as a weapon and as a preservative for food. We humans cannot live without salt, but too
much salt will kill us. As Jesus
mentions we use it for bringing out the flavor of our meals, but again too
much will spoil the meal. There is a
fine balance then between what is good and useful and that which is bad and
ruinous. Why is this important? Because
it points us to the reality of the world and life that we live and witness to.
If
we are to bring flavor to the world, to add joy and love to the lives of
people around us, we need to make sure that the light of God’s kingdom is
clearly seen. How do we do this? By living,
witnessing, practicing, the two great commandments. Which as we all know are, “Love the Lord your
God and love your neighbor as yourself”.
These are hard to do, and I don’t know about you, but there are times I
have some sympathy with the people complaining to Isaiah. Of course the answer
he gives is what we expect, but it still human to gripe – perhaps not much has
changed in the past few thousand years.
When
we look at our lives, do we see instances of where we have been living in such
a way that the glory of God can shine like a light on hill? Are we willing to do this so the healing will
appear? I suspect the answer is no.
Now
I know that we will tell ourselves that there is more we have to do to show the
light of the Kingdom. And while this is
probably true, we also need to remember that it is important to keep a balance
- a perspective on what we can personally achieve. Like the balance with salt,
we need to know how, where and how our light shines. It’s OK to get others to help us light and
show the beacon, to take the basket off the light, rather than trying to do it
all by ourselves. We are a community and
it’s through our joint lives, our witness together that we show the light of
the Kingdom of God.
So
in the next few weeks, give some thought to how you as an individual, and we as
community can help others to see the light and grace of God’s kingdom.
Amen.
