6 Feb

Are you the salt of the earth?
Are you the light of the world?
Yes!
That’s what Jesus said. He didn’t say: “you might the salt of the earth” or “maybe one day you’ll be the light of the world”. He said: “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world.”
We tend to remember the names of the beacons of light, like Martin Luther King Jr. But people die all the time standing against injustice and often we don’t know their names; but sometimes we learn them.
A week ago, in Uganda, a man named David Kato was murdered. Maybe you heard it on the news or saw a clip about it. Why is this important? Well, David Kato was murdered because he was the “most out gay man in the country”. Why does that matter? Well, because there’s a bill on the parliament floor in Uganda that’s called the “Kill the Gays” bill, wherein, if passed, it will become illegal to be homosexual and punishable by life imprisonment or death. This matters internationally because Uganda gets a tremendous amount of aid and many countries are watching what they’re doing.[1] Our Presiding Bishop and the Archbishop of Canterbury both made statements about the murder, saying that it was a horrible, tragic event and reminding us that we are all children of God.
Do you need to be martyred to be a light in the world?
Does God require that of us?
Does God require that of me? I don’t know. I gotta say, I hope not.
And why might we want to hide our light? Embarrassment of being disciples of Christ? Fear that our light might go out? Fear of persecution?
I make the argument that we are already shining our lights in the world. Take disasters and big events – take the blizzard last week. Lots of people’s light shone forth as neighbors and strangers helped each other dig out, helped make sure that Meals-On-Wheels happened and did wellness checks. We don’t know who those people are. We don’t know the people who gathered Gatorade and granola bars and brought them to the people stuck on Lake Shore Drive to give them some sustenance and company until they were rescued. What a way to shine forth!
So…remember that you are a light in the world and live into it!
[1] The Rachel Maddow Show: “Roots of anti-gay hate abroad traced to U.S.”; 4 February 2011. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#41434173
Peace,
The Rev. M.E. Eccles, LPC