Children of Light

The two biggest celebrations in the church year are Christmas and Easter. Both of these seasons have a focus on light. The Advent candles remind us of the darkness in the world and from week to week as each additional candle is lit, we symbolically move from the darkness into the light of Christ. During Lent we again acknowledge the darkness that is present in the world - the depth of that darkness confirmed by the events of Good Friday. On Easter morning we are greeted with the light of Christ’s victory over death. From the first page of Genesis we know the words well – And God said let there be light. Through psalms and proverbs we learn that truth is found in the light and that light is found in the Lord. To the prophets and the gospels and in most every letter we learn of the connection between God and light. And in Ephesians we are included in that light. In fact Paul echoes Jesus words from his Sermon on the Mount when we were told that we are the light of the world. Or as Paul has written: Once you were in darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Freed from the darkness, we are now to live as children of light. The Greek word translated as live is better rendered to mean to walk around. A literal translation then is an imperative sentence and would read: All of you - walk around as children of light. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul tells the church what it looks like to walk around as children of light. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Be kind and compassionate to one another forgiving one another as Christ forgives you. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up. Paul sums it up like this: Put off you old self and clothe yourself with the new self. As the congregation at Ephesus was encouraged to walk around as children of light – Paul also talked about the congregation being fruit of the light. Fruit, he described, that is good and right and true. One commentator wrote: Because Paul differentiates between dark and light – and writes that things exposed by the light become visible - The emphasis on the congregation exhibiting good fruit suggests that- in every place -a Christian’s general conduct is in plain view – and so as people meet us…as people watch us – we become their reference and their example of what a Christian looks like. Today, Lent has become a personal time of prayer, reflection, and repentance in preparation for Easter. But 1600 years ago - these 40 days were spent in intense study and concentrated prayer- and was meant to prepare new believers for baptism. The most interesting thing about those 40 days – was this: Since the newly baptized were being received into a congregation –as a sign of love and support, the entire congregation- together- participated in the same 40 days of intense and concentrated study and prayer. On Easter then – the whole congregation –together - committed or re-committed their lives to being children of light. It is not easy to be children of light. The writer of Ephesians knew this. He knew how difficult it would be for an individual to become a new creation – and how doubly difficult it would be for an individual to continue growing into that new self - if left out there on their own. Which is why every letter – including Ephesians is written to a congregation – a congregation who together – strive to be imitators of Christ and so live as children of light. As we move through this Lenten season, let us remember that Paul admonishes us to - be very careful - to be aware – to be mindful of how we live. And then let us close with Paul’s words – words that were used on Easter morning when new believers came splashing up out of the baptismal waters - and when the whole church committed and recommitted themselves to be children of light: Sleeper, Awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.