The cover of today's bulletin is this incredible picture that just grabbed my heart and soul this week. Truly, we are in God's hands -- the Master Creator and we are the creation; the Potter and we are the clay. I will keep this picture in my office for a long time, reminding me that I am blessed to rest in the hands of God -- God who knows my name and calls me by name.
The Men's Ensemble did a great rendition of "This Little Light of Mine" (leftover from last week) for today's anthem. Enjoy!
With church cancelled last week due to bad weather, I sent an abbreviated sermon out to our eNews list. Here's what I sent.
This Little Light of Mine
Matthew 5:13-20
13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lam
p and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
I never want to see an ounce of salt again! I'm not talking about the stuff I toss on my burger or fries. I mean the stuff that we're tossing onto our sidewalks, driveways and the city is putting on every conceivable piece of pavement out there. Here we are, in the first week of February and we've already had more ice than we've seen in a decade and with it comes rock salt and snow melt in every possible form.
I really don't want to try to read by candlelight again! We were fortunate in our house that the loss of power with Tuesday's ice storm
was minimal and amounted to only a few hours of inconvenience. Too many within our region were without power for days. The good folks of Duke Energy have worked tirelessly to reconnect downed lines and repair blown transformers - and made the light shine again in Terre Haute.
Salt and light - two things Jesus talks about as we continue our journey through His famous Sermon on the Mount. Two things that are desperately needed to keep life going - in his time and in ours.
In Jesus' day, salt was used not only as a flavoring for food, but also as a leavening agent in processing animal dung into usable fuel. Without it, the fuel would not burn, giving warmth and light to the home. If the salt lost its saltiness, it was worthless.
Worthless, too, is the light hidden under a basket - snuffed out before anything useful can come of it.
In these words, found in Matthew 5, Jesus is reminding us that as His followers, we are to be "leavening agents" in an uncertain and impure world. We are, with our salty salt and unhidden lights to keep the fires of faith alive - even under stress, difficult days, uncertain nights and unpredictable weather.
He taught then and teaches us now that the power of God - as witnessed through our faith combined with action - can transform the world. Like salt, our care of each other and others around us will bring out the best of a world that seems to be turning sour. Like the shining of a lamp or candle, we can bring light into a world that is floundering in darkness. We can, through God's grace and Christ's example, be that city on a hill, for all to see - a refuge and safe haven in a world pounded by hatred and threatened by terror.
Whenever the power goes out at our house, we bring lots of candles to full light. It takes more than one to keep us doing whatever it is we were doing when the power went out. One candle is rarely enough. But one candle combined with another and then another can bring brilliant light into any room.
We may, each of us, be only one candle in God's candelabra, but together, we have the power to enlighten the whole world. May we always bear that in mind and live as if our light - our individual lights - made all the difference. The fact is, they do.
May you blessed in the coming week, no matter what the weather holds, with the grace of a loving God, the guidance of a steadfast Savior and the presence and protection of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In addition to this morning's sermon, we shared Communion and invite you to share it with us.
