Hebrews 1:1-4
Light has always captured our imagination. By it, we can see the world around us; it brings warmth to our bodies, and without it, life on this planet would not exist. Its power to refract creates depth and beauty to the world around us. And because of its special properties—the gift of color, all the colors of the rainbow—bless our planet and make exquisite art possible. In the morning, its presence brings us joy. And surprisingly, in the evening, as it grows dim and flickers, it brings us a sense of peace. Arguably, it is the most amazing aspect of God’s creation.
For these reasons, virtually from the dawn of humanity, light has been used, oddly enough, to describe that which we cannot see with our eyes, feel with our fingers, or taste with our tongue—that is, the very essence and nature of God and the so-called "light of God" in our hearts.
The power of light inspired the author of Hebrews to describe Jesus as "the reflection of God’s glory." But with the little knowledge of Greek that I have, I believe the word is better translated as radiance, which conveys a critical distinction. Just like the light that comes off from the sun is not a reflection but emitted by the sun; it is a part and parcel of the sun; so too, Jesus is not a mirror reflection of God but the emanation, the radiation of God out into the world.
As by simply being alive, we radiate heat constantly, we cannot help it, so does the very existence of God radiate Christ.
Hebrews describes Jesus with this word because when people encountered him, they felt like they had encountered God. And as a congregation, we have been called by Jesus, as have all Christians, to radiate the presence of Jesus. As He said in Matthew:
"You are the light of the world… No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."
There are three particular ways that Jesus radiated the nature of God that I would like us to focus on as we seek to be faithful to his challenge. We are called to radiate the holiness of God, the irenic peace of God, and the righteousness of God.
God is righteous.
This means simply that God always does what is right and will not tolerate evil. God acts in history, as God did in the exodus to liberate the people of Israel from the oppressive and enslaving actions of Egypt. Jesus shined light on the injustice in His time by standing up to the powers of His day, risking and ultimately losing His own life because of it. God’s righteousness always seeks justice and equality and calls the church to act on His behalf.
Because this world is not perfect (it cannot be), we know there will be unequal distribution of food, health, education, and more. So as a congregation, we seek to shine a light on the fundamental injustices of our time; to feed those who are hungry through the Tuesday Night Dinner Party and the Grassroots Grocery program. Because we know the power of education, its ability to help children become and realize all of their potential, we strive to not only offer the very best for our children, but we support Stanley Isaacs Center, which advocates for children and offers programs that help them thrive. But this matter is too important to us to simply leave it to others. So through Summer Steps and through the scholarships to the Brick Church School, we seek to position children from various backgrounds to be able to develop the gifts of the mind that God gave them.Because we know that not everybody has sufficient resources to carry them through comfortably to the end of their days, we give grants to Search and Care, whose mission enables older adults to live out their lives in their homes.
Irenic Peace
And yet simply making things fair in this world is not sufficient. Jesus did something far more powerful. The light of His truth drew people together like moths are drawn to a flame.
When He sought to make things right, it was in order to forge peace. And a particular type of peace at that—not merely the absence of conflict but a peace that forged harmony across the boundaries that separate people. It was to create a new community, a kingdom-of-heaven type community, in which the people at the table are from every swath of humanity. This is the beautiful vision that scripture paints both in the Old and New Testaments, that in God’s kingdom there will be people from east and west and north and south; from all the nations of the Earth in one place with one purpose—to praise their maker.
There is something fantastic about the property of light. Sir Isaac Newton, perhaps the only real rival to Einstein’s greatness, discovered that pure light is made of all the colors of the rainbow. A prism can divide that light, can separate it, but if you bring all those colors back together and put them through a prism, suddenly you have pure light once again! Humanity divides itself, separates itself from one another. But the radiance of Christ is prismatic, in that when all the colors of the rainbow come together through the prism of Christ’s love, they radiate the pure light of God most beautifully. This is why the session, as part of its ten-year vision, seeks for Brick to become a community that reflects the full diversity of our city, so that we might reflect the pure light of God more brightly.
And finally, we seek to radiate the righteousness of God and the irenic peace of God so that all may know the holiness of God.
Holiness of God
Luke tells of the aging Simeon, near his death, who finally received the gift he had been waiting a lifetime for: to see the Salvation of God. When he saw the infant Jesus, he was struck by the holy presence of God, "Mine eyes have seen the light of your salvation!" Even as an infant, Jesus radiated the glory of God.
Many whom Jesus healed experienced God’s presence, and when Thomas, the doubter, placed his fingers in the risen Jesus’ flesh, he proclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" (Oddly enough, it was the demons who had the easiest time recognizing who He was). As a congregation, one of the ways we can most powerfully radiate the holiness of God is through our worship. The world, and we ourselves, desperately need it.
The gift of science has been an incredible blessing to humanity, but its misapplication has eroded something that humanity has known from the very beginning. There is something about the world, something powerful, something palpable, but yet that cannot be measured. There is something greater than ourselves, beyond the physical. Thus, Einstein, arguably the greatest scientist in history (Sorry, Isaac!), had this to say:
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom the emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand wrapped in awe, is as good as dead… To know what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as… the most radiant beauty… this feeling is at the center of true religiousness." Albert Einstein, The World as I See It (1931)
To be religious is less about a set of prescribed actions, beliefs, and organizational principles as it is about being drawn, like a moth to the flame, to the mysterious presence of God.
In this country particularly, we have allowed the beauty of the mysterious, numinous presence of God to all but disappear from our conversations and from our lives. According to scripture, this means we are robbing ourselves and our children of their true humanity.
And I believe many of our problems are due to this deficit. If I fail to eat healthy foods, my energy and my physical self suffers. I cannot run as fast, or work as hard because of it, and I am susceptible to disease because of it. So, what do you think it does to us if we fail to feed our souls?
To experience the holy gives us perspective on the problems of life; it empowers us to be people of strength, and it balances us and blesses our children. But even more, it is at the core of why God created us, as the Westminster Confession proclaims: "The chief end of humankind is to glorify God and enjoy God forever."
And I believe this is why Brick’s worship is more traditional, more formal, and focuses on a particular type of music. Holiness means distinct, separate from our normal lives. And so, our worship is deliberately crafted to not sound or feel like that which you encounter in your daily lives. It is meant to help us encounter the majesty, the wonder, and the mystery of God.
We have two pieces of music with this aim in today’s worship. There is a beautiful ancient piece of music, O Oriens, which evokes the holiness of God, as seen in the person of Christ, who is known in scripture as the Morning Star.
"O Morning Star, splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death."
The setting you will hear in today’s worship is exquisitely crafted to evoke a sense of the mysterious, the eternal, and the beautiful.
The anthem you will hear immediately following this sermon, Ana Manim, Tagalog for Our Father, offered a capella, masterfully blends voices, evoking the holy peace of our Lord.
Receive these both to feel the radiant light of God’s love. Amen.
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