REFLECTION - Light in the Darkness

by Pastor Lorne Anderson

When I think about churches and light, a vivid memory from my early teens springs to mind. I was living in Holland, and one particularly cold and dark November evening, my mom invited me to join her at an old stone church to watch a choir she enjoyed. Reluctantly, I left my friends at basketball practice and cycled alone to meet her at the venue.

The church stood on the edge of a small forest, accessible only by passing through iron gates at the end of the stone walls that encircled the adjacent graveyard. In the misty cold drizzle of that dark winter evening, I felt profoundly uncomfortable. Locking my bike and trudging toward the entrance, I grumbled to myself about the "cultural experience" my mom insisted I attend.

Yet, it was in this disquieting darkness that I encountered something utterly transformative.

The church's large wooden doors had been left ajar, and from the arched stone entrance poured a phenomenal light. It was warm and inviting, sparkling as it caught the tiny raindrops in the air. Accompanying this light was the murmuring excitement of the audience inside and the subtle aroma of coffee and cake. Despite my exhaustion and discomfort, I found the light intoxicating. Intrigue gripped me, and I was irresistibly drawn inside.

Ironically, I have no memory of the concert itself. What remains etched in my mind is the moment when light utterly dispelled both the darkness and my unease.

In the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus spoke of light and a city on a hill (Matthew 5: 14-16), I wonder what emotions his audience felt. I believe he was invoking the image of the temple in Jerusalem and God’s presence pouring out from the Holy of Holies. How many of his listeners would have had the honour of visiting that temple and thus knew the apprehension of entering in.

But Jesus wasn’t inviting them to simply consider the feeling of entering a holy space. His words carried a revolutionary truth: They themselves were now the light of the world. The sacred light was no longer trickling out from a place—it radiated from their very lives. They were now the light meant to dispel darkness with good deeds, to transform cold indifference into warmth and joy, and to illuminate the way, even for teenagers who wished they were still playing basketball. This is how all will come to glorify the Father in heaven. Not because of what happens inside a temple but because of what the Father’s children do with His light within them.

Jesus renewed his audience’s vision from a place, to the potential of their purpose. The sacred light was no longer something to look toward but something to shine outward.

May we also have the courage to let our attention be renewed, turning away from merely inviting people into illuminated church buildings, and toward proactively sharing the light that has been ignited within us. In doing so, may all people glorify our Father in heaven.

Key Question:

What shift in focus might ‘enlighten’ you and your church’s ministry to actively embody the transformative light of Christ in innovative and practical ways?

Things to Pray For

• All the Uniting Church communities, churches, and agencies that shine light within our communities.
• Ask God to reveal the areas of our lives, and the Uniting Church, that may be blocking or dimming God’s light.
• Ask that God will reveal the places and people in our communities who are living in darkness and give us a renewed vision for how we can shine God’s light to dispel the darkness.
• Pray that people who have no community will find a place to belong in the Uniting Church.
• Pray that people will be drawn to God’s light through our actions and words.

Prayer for Transformation

You may like to sit in darkness and watch a candle flicker.
What may God be saying to you about the darkness and the light?

God of Light,

We thank you for your warm, inviting, and intoxicating light that dispels darkness, transforms indifference, and illuminates the way.

We are sorry for the times when our attitudes, traditions, or ignorance have blocked or dulled your light from shining within us, through us, and from us.

Please re-spark your light in us and give us a renewed vision for what your phenomenal light looks and feels like so that others are drawn towards you.

Help us be creative, practical, approachable, and open as we are guided and transformed by your light.

Give us the courage to be light shiners not only in our Church buildings but wherever we go.

God, transform the Uniting Church, and our lives.

Amen