Transforming Darkness and Decay
- davidwperk
- Sep 17, 2021
- 4 min read
Devotional Reflection, Friday, September 17, 2021
Proper 19, the week of the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.
Key phrase for reflection from today’s reading:
13 ‘You are the salt of the earth;
14‘You are the light of the world
Today we celebrate the Feast of Hildegard of Bingen. (See below.)
Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 984)
AM Psalm 69:1-23(24-30) 31-38; PM Psalm 73
2 Kings 1:2-17; 1 Cor. 3:16-23; Matt. 5:11-16
Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer
Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer
Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer
Daily Office Gospel, Matthew 5:11-16
11‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 ‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
David's Reflections
The community that lives in the spirit of Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes, will be a community shining light and shaking salt into the world. Being aware of our absolute need for God (poor in spirit), grieving over the brokenness of the world and our own brokenness, hungering and thirsting for God's salvation, sharing God's peace (wholeness) with others, and responding to persecution and rejection with love--such a community would indeed be salt and light.
If we are salt and light, what does that say about the world itself? It implies that the world about us is in darkness and decay. In antiquity, without electrical power and streetlights, the nights were more profoundly dark than most moderns have experienced. And, salt served as a preservative with refrigeration lacking or very limited, arresting the activity of bacteria.
Apart from a relationship with the God of love, people live in darkness, darkness about themselves, darkness about God, darkness about others. This goes beyond a mere intellectual opaqueness, although there is an inability to grasp the essence of divine mysteries. Rather, this darkness extends to experience as well, people have not had the light of God's love shining in their hearts, they have not known God in relational ways.
Living apart from that relationship with God has a corrosive effect on human nature and on society. Unbelief and living independently of God have their own negative impacts on the human psyche. Relationships suffer. Life gets turned in upon itself in self-absorbed ways. Energies get directed to self-serving ends. The creation and the powerless get exploited for human gain. Hence, the society suffers deprivation and decay.
The church stands as witness to another way. Whenever people are touched by the good news of God’s salvation in Christ and become part of the believing community, the darkness begins to lift. God's love begins to be felt in their experience, and they know God in personal terms. Energies get redirected. Devotion to God and to others begins to replace self-directed and self-absorbed living. The corrosive effects of the old way yield to energies reaching out to give self to God, to love others, and to practice stewardship of the creation. Loving and serving community takes shape.
Jesus says we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth.. Can anything be more exciting than knowing that we will make a difference in the life of this community, that someone in your circle of relationships or the next person you invite to worship with you might begin that journey of transformation and themselves become part of a salt and light endeavor? The possibilities—exciting and energizing.
Collect of the Day, Proper 19, the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP 233)
Today we celebrate the Feast of Hildegard of Bingen, visionary (died 17 Sep 1179 CE).
Collect of the Feast of Hildegard of Bingen
God of all times and seasons: Give us grace that we, after the example of your servant Hildegard, may both know and make known the joy and jubilation of being part of your creation, and show forth your glory in the world; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Collect for Fridays
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 97)
A Prayer for Light
Almighty God, we give you thanks for surrounding us, as daylight fades, with the brightness of the vesper light; and we implore you of your great mercy that, as you enfold us with the radiance of this light, so you would shine into our hearts the brightness of your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 110)
A Collect for Mission
Merciful God, creator of all the peoples of the earth and lover of souls: Have compassion on all who do not know you as you are revealed in your Son Jesus Christ; let your Gospel be preached with grace and power to those who have not heard it; turn the hearts of those who resist it; and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray; that there may be one flock under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP, 280)
Comments