"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, let their be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
Churches of this nation were called upon to emphasize the idea of A Point of Light with special emphasis being placed upon our service and witness to our communities.
Surely there is not much denial of our living in the midst of moral and spiritual darkness. The churches of this land have been preaching and witnessing for the life of this nation. however, darkness seems to be more pervasive than ever before. The light still shines, and the darkness has not been able to overcome it.
Henry Nouwen in his book "The Way of the Heart" says, "We are painfully reminded of the words of John the Evangelist:
The Word...the true light... was coming into the world... that had its being through Him, and the world did not know him. He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him. (John 1:9-11)
It seems that the darkness is thicker than ever, that the powers of evil are more blatantly visible than ever, and that the children of God are being tested more severely than ever."
During the last few years I have been wondering what it means to be a minister in such a situation. What is required of men and women who want to bring light into the darkness, to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord's year of favor (Luke 4:18-19)? What is required of a man or woman who is called to enter fully into the turmoil and agony of the times and speak a word of hope?
I apologize for this lengthy quote but it must be stated as a whole - -
"It is not difficult to see that in this fearful and painful period of our history we who minister in parishes, schools, universities, hospitals, and prisons are having a difficult time fulfilling our task of making the light of Christ shine into the darkness. Many of us have adapted ourselves too well to the general mood of lethargy. Others among us have become tired, exhausted, disappointed, bitter, resentful, or simply bored. Still others have remained active and involved -- but have ended up living more in their own name than in the name of Jesus Christ. This is not so strange. The pressures in the ministry are enormous, the demands are increasing, and the satisfactions diminishing. How can we expect to remain full of creative vitality, of zeal for the Word of God, of desire to serve, and of motivation to inspire our often numbed congregations? Where are we supposed to find nurture and strength? How can we alleviate our own spiritual hunger and thirst?"
Now I'm going to impose upon you with another long, troubling quotation. It's from Eugene Peterson in his book "Working the Angles". In the introduction he says:
"American pastors are abandoning their posts, left and right, and at an alarming rate. They are NOT LEAVING THEIR CHURCHES AND GETTING OTHER JOBS. Congregations still pay their salaries. Their names remain on the church stationary and they continue to appear on Sundays. But they are abandoning their posts, their calling. They have gone whoring after other gods. What they do with their time under the guise of pastoral ministry hasn't the remotest connection with what the church's pastors have done for most of twenty centuries.
A few of us are angry about it. We are angry because we have been deserted. The people I thought I would be working with disappeared with the work started. Being a pastor is difficult work; we want the companionship and counsel of our allies. It is bitterly disappointing to enter a room full of people whom you have every reason to expect share the quest and commitments of pastoral work and find within ten minutes that they most definitely do not. They talk of images and statistics. They drop names. They discuss influence and status. Matters of God and the soul and scripture are not grist for their mills.
The pastors of America have metamorphosed into a company of shopkeepers, and the shops they keep are churches. They are preoccupied with shopkeeper's concerns - - how to keep the customers happy, how to lure customers away from competitors down the street, how to package the goods so that the customers will lay out more money.
Some of them are very good shopkeepers. They attract a lot of customers, pull in great sums of money, develop splendid reputations. Yet it is still shopkeeping; religious shopkeeping, to be sure, but shopkeeping all the same. The marketing strategies of the fast-food franchise occupy the waking minds of their entrepreneurs; while asleep they dream of the kind of success that will get the attention of the journalists. A walloping great congregation is fine, and fun, but what most communities really need is a couple of saints. The tragedy is that they may well be there in embryo, waiting to be discovered, waiting for sound training, waiting to be emancipated from the cult of the mediocre.
The message of God is directly to the individual heart. It's a personal word that speaks to individual need. It's a word of forgiveness and hope. It's a word of reconciliation.
It came to me at age 29 -- in the darkness of my life; through influences in my life in years past; through the Word as revealed in the Scripture; through faltering prayer; through the proclaimed word. -- Dr. Greer Davis
I need the light and it began to shine into my life.
There are individuals within the community, within this church, perhaps within your own family who need that light. Who will bear the light to them? To be in the darkness is to be away from God, under judgment, without hope.
Homes within this community live in darkness. I know what that is. Scripture is not read, prayer is not uttered, religious counsel is not given, Christian hope is absent in time of distress and despair. I experienced in my own life the agony of seeing and being subject to strife between my mother and father.
Dr. Robert Coles, an eminent psychiatrist, so loving and under standing toward children was shown on television a few days ago. He got the children to draw pictures with crayons, and he talked with them. How sad to see very young boys and girls who had drawn pictures of loneliness and isolation; not belonging; not being able to trust. Children under a dark cloud of uncertainty within their own homes. The fear of listening to quarreling parents, screaming at one another. Listening to Father and Mother talking of divorce. Breaking up the family.
Pastors, churches, and all Christians should be moved to the depths of their hearts in light of this. Where is the church in this? Where do we fit in? What word, what testimony do we have? Have you ever thought of the witness you give when you back your car out of the driveway on Sunday morning and make your way to church? Others see you and conclude that God makes a difference in your life and your family life.
Have you ever thought of your witness when your car sits in your driveway on Sunday morning and doesn't move toward your church? Perhaps you emerge later with casual wear - work, beach, sports - after the church hour. They conclude that faith in God is a sometimes affair - - rather optional when one has other plans.
Can your family provide light to other families?
I want to conclude with a comment by Eugene Peterson:
"In a society in which entertainment and distraction are such important preoccupations, ministers are also tempted to join the ranks of those who consider it their primary task to keep other people busy. It is easy to perceive the young and the elderly as people who need to be kept off the streets or on the streets. And ministers frequently find themselves in fierce competition with people and institutions who offer something more exciting to do than they do.
But our task is the opposite of distraction. Our task is to help people concentrate on the real but often hidden event of God's active presence in their lives. Hence, the question that must guide all organizing activity in a parish is not how to keep people busy, but to keep them from being so busy that they can no longer hear the voice of God who speaks in a silence."
Oh, that you might see Jesus Christ; that will be enough!
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