Light: Mid-Week Reflection

THE REV. DAVID M. STODDART

Epiphany is the season of light: the light of God shining in Christ; the light of Christ shining in us; the light of Christ shining through us.

Wait a second. That sounds very exalted and saintly. You may not be feeling very exalted and saintly as you read this. But please keep reading and don’t click your mouse on another entry yet.

God shining through us is not about feelings. I watch parishioners give of themselves in so many ways, from hands-on acts of service to attending meetings. I imagine that often they are just doing what they’ve got to do, trying to get through the next thing on their schedule. Certainly I feel that way at times. If reflecting the love of God consisted in feeling loving or holy, we’d all fail on a regular basis.

But being channels of God’s light and love does not demand particular feelings: it calls for a gentle and continuing surrender to the grace of God wherever we are and whatever we’re doing. Whether we feel energized or tired, happy or depressed, God is in each moment and each circumstance of our lives, always seeking to work in us and through us for good. Faith involves remembering that and trusting that. I may not “feel” it when I sit in a Finance Committee meeting or visit a sick parishioner at the end of a long day, but it is nonetheless true. And I have found over the years that surrendering myself to the demands of the moment, whatever they may be, knowing that God is always working, leads to peace.

And it also produces results. One of the joys of my vocation is seeing other people make a difference, often in ways they don’t realize. I watch God shine through parishioners as they care for each other and engage in very ordinary acts of ministry. I listen to them as they share with me how someone else made their day or touched their lives. The Spirit is indeed always moving. Imagine if all of us embraced that and lived each moment knowing that Christ is living in us and being revealed through us. Imagine it. God certainly does.

This is why the blessing we use during the season of Epiphany is my favorite blessing of the year: “May Christ, the Son of God, be manifest in you, that your lives may be a light to the world.”

Yes. So be it.