Week of 3 Epiphany: Thursday, Year 2

Above:  An Oil Lamp

Image Source = Rama

Being Light in the Darkness

JANUARY 25, 2024

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Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada.  I invite you to follow it with me.

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2 Samuel 7:18-19, 24-29 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said,

Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?  And yet this is a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD; you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have shown me future generations, O Lord GOD!

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And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people for ever; and you, O LORD, became their God.  And now, O LORD God, confirm for ever the word which you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken; and your name will be magnified for ever, saying, “The LORD of hosts is God over Israel,” and the house of your servant David will be established before you.  For you, O LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, “I will build you a house”; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.  And now, O Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue for ever before you, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed for ever.

Psalm 132:1-5, 11-15 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1  LORD, remember David,

and all the hardships endured;

2  How he swore an oath to the LORD

and vowed a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:

3  “I will not come under the roof of my house,

nor climb up into my bed;

4  I will not allow my eyes to sleep,

nor let my eyelids slumber;

5  Until I find a place for the LORD,

a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

11  The LORD has sworn an oath to David;

in truth, he will not break it:

12  “A son, the fruit of your body

will I set upon your throne.

13  If your children keep my covenant

and my testimonies that I shall teach them,

their children will sit upon your throne for evermore.”

14  For the LORD has chosen Zion;

he has desired her for his habitation:

15  “This shall be my resting-place for ever;

here will I dwell, for I delight in her….”

Mark 4:21-25 (Revised Standard Version–Second Catholic Edition):

And he said to them,

Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand?  For there is nothing hidden, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.  If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.

And he said to them,

Take heed what you hear; the measure you get will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you.  For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

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The Collect:

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

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A Related Post:

Week of 3 Epiphany:  Thursday, Year 1:

https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/10/04/week-of-3-epiphany-thursday-year-1/

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Illumination is, for many of us in the industrialized parts of the world, simple.  As I write these words, I count four light bulbs in front of me, two above and behind me, three around one corner, five in the bathroom, one in an understairs closet, four in the bedroom, three in the kitchen, one near the kitchen and by the back door, one outside the back door, and another one above the front door.  Then I have two storm doors and some windows with blinds; natural light is easy to obtain, rendering most of the light bulbs unnecessary to use most of the time.  I tend to use a light bulb for a long time before having to replace it.  Yet, if I wished, I could bathe my dwelling place in light.  Nevertheless, I prefer to use no more than one well-chosen light-bulb at a time.  The light stands out relative to the darkness around it.

Many of the people to whom Jesus spoke lived in small, dark houses.  Oil lamps could be difficult to light, so one did not extinguish a lamp casually.  So a safety-conscious person who had to run an errand covered the lamp before stepping out.  That way the lamp would still cast light into the darkness upon the person’s return.

Light is essential, for it allows one to see where one is going.  And we tend to take light for granted when there is much of it.  But let darkness fall, and the great amount of light one candle or light bulb or oil lamp can emit becomes obvious.

The light sines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

–John 1:5 (Revised Standard Version)

Jesus is the light in the spiritual darkness.  The never-extinguished flame from his wick  has lit many other candles and oil lamps, to the current generation.  How many candles and oil lamps will you light, or at least not extinguish?  And what will the results of your lighting be?  This is about far more than people affirming doctrines.  No, it is also about people living according to the demands that grace, which is free but not cheap, makes on them as they love their neighbors, work for justice, et cetera.

KRT

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