Bible Reading: Matthew 5:14b-15

NIV

A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

The Message

God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand.

Something to Think About:

A city on a hill and a lamp on a stand – these two illustrations were used by Jesus as he was teaching his disciples about shining. Think about it – you don’t build a city on a mountain top if you’re trying to keep it a secret and you’d be missing a few marbles if you unscrewed all the light bulbs in your house at night. He was either being funny or sarcastic.

Have you ever been on an airplane and seen the lights from cities far away? For folks in Jesus’ day far away lights from cities built on mountainsides were as good as maps. People used the city lights to plot their way.

Having light at night back then was not taken for granted. It took a lot to light a house lamp. There weren’t matches or batteries. A lamp (usually made in the design of something like a gravy boat your mom uses at Thanksgiving) was open ended and filled with oil, the wick would be laid across the oil so that it hung off the side of the lamp. Because it was difficult to light and relight lamps folks would place the lamp on the floor and put a large earthen bowl over top it if they had to step out for a few minutes. This wouldn’t have been an air tight seal but it would have kept the house safe from a fire hazard. It was a convenient way to turn out the lights so to say and then turn them back on once they returned home.

The disciples would have gotten the point. Cities on hills are seen clearly at night. Lamps provide light to houses when they are placed on a stand. Their lives were to be clearly visible to others. Like the light of a city they were to mark clearly the way to God. And like a lamp on a stand in the house they were to give direction to everyone in it. For God so loved the world means everyone. They were to shine so that everyone could see clearly.

Reflect:

Is there someone in your circle of friends who needs some clear direction? Do you know someone who is different from you who is being excluded from friendship or who is not being welcomed into a circle of friends because of language, religion or ethnicity? What could you LIGHT about it?

Pray:

FATHER GOD,

WHAT A SHINING DAY. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE GOOD THINGS THAT YOU BROUGHT MY WAY.

I KNEW YOU WERE WITH ME.

AT EVERY TURN YOU WERE THERE.

I SAW YOU IN THE FACES OF MY FRIENDS AND IN THOSE I’D NEVER MET BEFORE.

LET’S DO IT AGAIN TOMORROW.

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

SEE YOU IN THE MORNING. AMEN.