We were anchored in Trellis Bay along the
northeast edge of Beef Island, off Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. On shore, along the east end of Beef Island
is “Upper Bluff” rising almost 800 feet above the water, offering beauty and
protection to the bay. The six people on
our boat were on deck basking in the waning sun, watching the sunset, watching
the colors of the sky, watching the beauty of the creation. We were enjoying fellowship, chatting,
laughing and relaxing.
As the night came and the darkness grew deeper,
our eyes were drawn away from the setting sun to the opposite horizon, where,
over the Upper Bluff, the full moon was rising.
We were expecting to watch the moon rise. But we weren’t expecting to hear the strains
of a Bagpiper warming up the pipes on the shore. In a hushed but excited whisper, someone
said, “Here it comes!!” And then we
watched, quietly, reverently, for the next ten or so minutes while God, who had
just minutes before darkened the earth with the setting sun, now silently
covered the earth with the light of the full moon. It was moving.
But then the Bagpiper fully warmed up, moved into
the strains of “Amazing Grace”. Amazing
grace from the bagpipe announced the light of the full moon. And when it was done, we applauded. Everyone
in the harbor applauded. Applauded God who is incredibly powerful. Applauded God’s grace, a grace that is gently
gracious. Applauded the bagpiper who in
such a gentle way awakened in us a sense of awe.
That moonrise will be etched forever in my
memory.
In my spirit eye, I think that somehow the light
of Christ, born in the darkness of a first century world, for the darkness of a
21st century world, was something like that. Somehow the visit of the Magi must have been
something like that. “Your light has
come.”
Certainly, from as far back as the prophet
Isaiah, it was like that. “Arise! Shine!
Your Light has come!” the prophet announces. “The glory of the Lord has risen on
you!” Isaiah proclaims.
In the context, Isaiah was announcing that the
long years of the darkness of exile were over.
The exile in Babylon is ended.
Soon there will be a return to the city of Jerusalem where God’s light,
reflected in Israel, will draw caravans bearing treasure from all the
nations—nations that will freely praise the Lord for God’s wonderful deeds.
Matthew, though, found in this ancient language a
likeness for the radiant glory of a star that was used to announce to the
nations—even to the Far East—the birth of Christ. And in the story of the Kings we have the
battle of light and darkness—the dark sinister Herod standing in opposition to
the Light of the World born in Bethlehem and to the star that has so
wonderfully guided the magi from the East.
In symbolic language, the “star” (the Glory of the Lord) pierced the
‘darkness’ of the centuries to bring Kings to its light bearing “gold and
frankincense and myrrh”.
That night, on Trellis Bay, I noticed something
I’ve seen on the water ever so many times with the light of the moon. You’ll know what I’m thinking about. The moonbeam, when it shines across the
water, leaves a path of light directly to me, to you, to whoever is looking. There is always within the light that bathes
the whole world, that little beam of light, sparkling off the water, shining as
though it is intended only for the one person.
No matter where one moves along the water, the special beam
follows. It exists for just one
person--the person looking!
I understand the light of Jesus in the same way. A couple of thousand years ago--when Jesus
was born, when the Kings came to behold him, when the people began to
understand the miracle that had occurred the light of the world dawned on
high--the light of the World crept into the back streets of Bethlehem, where
the Son of God was born. And in that
moment, God’s light covered the whole earth, bathed the whole earth in light,
the light that brings salvation, and lightens the darkness of sin, death, and
the power of the devil. God came in
Christ to bathe the world, en masse, the whole world, in forgiveness and
love. In that moment, God’s amazing
grace was fulfilled.
And yet, the light of Jesus has for each and
every one of us it’s own personal beam -- a beam that shines personally into
our lives. A beam that individually
lights our paths into the way of truth, the way to hope and the way of
salvation. This light comes to shine on
us to be our inner light, the Inner light of life.
But it
doesn’t end there. In fact, that is just
the beginning. Just as dozens of sailors
rose with applause to the light of the moon, Isaiah called for all to rise and
shine. Rise and shine because light has
come. The first to receive the light are
to be the first to reflect it. The light
that shines on is to be reflected by us.
Just as
Israel was called to shine so each of us has been called to stand up, stand
out, stand firm and sound out. Your
calling is to receive the light and to reflect it brightly. Epiphany is about shining light in all
directions! By the way, how’s your
receiving and reflecting going?
I may have shared this story before, but it is so to the point I
share it again. I’M ONLY A MIRROR FRAGMENT:
"ALL I REALLY NEED TO
KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum shares a
story about a very interesting well-educated Greek philosopher whose name is
Dr. Alexander Popaderos. And Dr.
Popaderos every summer on the island of Crete taught a class on ethics for two
weeks. And this particular summer just
as he was getting ready to close the class, the last few minutes of the class,
he said, “Now are there any questions before we go?”
And just as he was getting
ready to say, “OK then you’re dismissed,” a little man in the back of the room,
a rather timid looking man, sort of carefully raised his hand and said, “Dr.
Popaderos,”
“Yes”
“I have a question”
“Yes, what is it?”
He said, “I’d like to know,
what is the meaning of life?”
As you can imagine, people were ready to go home, and they were very
irritated by this little fellow’s heavy question!
Dr. Popaderos very quickly quieted the group; he said to the class,
“You know, if you don’t mind I’d like to answer that question.” He reached into his back pocket, and took out
his wallet. He took out of the wallet a
little mirror about the size of a fifty-cent piece, honed down on the edges,
kind of sparkling. And then he told this
tale, he said, “When I was a child, I began to realize that I could have so
much fun with that mirror. I would
simply catch the glint of the Sun, and shine that mirror into an otherwise
darkened place. As I grew older I began
to learn that this is no child’s toy.
This is really a metaphor for my life.
Now I am not the light—I am not the source of the light. I am simply a broken mirror fragment. But if I allow the sun to shine on my mirror
fragment, it is amazing what light I can bring into darkness.” Then he said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, that is
the meaning of life.”
Each of us is a mirror
fragment. We are not the Light. We are not the source of the Light. We are simply a broken mirror fragment. But when we permit the SON to hit our mirror
fragment, and then bounce off into the dark corners of the world, it is then
that light shines, and God’s amazing grace is revealed as a light beam to lives
around us.
Amen.
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