Too much light can reveal things you’d rather keep hidden. My husband replaced the lights in our garage. I was dazzled when he called me in to look at his handiwork. It was amazingly bright! And then we groaned; we had no idea the back wall was so grungy with years of accumulated dirt and grime. The light illuminates: the light reveals.
Uncomfortable revelations are something we Lutherans handle communally. During worship, we confess together the ways we choose to turn away from the light of Christ. This is something we can explain to young children. Each week, even when we look like we have it all together, all of us grown-ups confess that we don’t understand, that we’ve turned away from God’s illuminating love. But we’re not the only ones. We’re here as a gathered body to support each other in faith and love and then to be sent out into the world to shine together.
This message is excerpted from “Light in the darkness” by Lisa A. Smith in the January/February 2023 Gather magazine.
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