Lighting Up the World

                                  The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.

And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.

Matthew 4:16

As a brand-new Aircraft Maintenance Officer straight out of technical training with the Air Force, I was assigned as Officer-in-Charge of the Propulsion Branch.  Our responsibility was the build-up and installation of aircraft engines, and the Branch consisted of a Jet Engine Shop and a Reciprocating Engine Shop.  (Reciprocating engines, in case you are wondering, are the old, piston-driven kind that turn a propeller.)  Of the 150 or so mechanics I supervised, the reciprocating engine mechanics were my favorite.  They were generally grungier, but more affable, took great pride in their work, and made better coffee than the jet engine guys.  One of these guys - a young airman - was a real character.

His name escapes me now, but he was kind of a real "flower power generation" guy.  He had a barracks room all to himself, probably because no one else wanted to room with him, but I think he liked it that way.  When other guys were working on cars or hitting the bars during their off-duty time, this guy raised plants and sewed.  No kidding!  His room was kind of dark, lit with the old "black lights," humid and cluttered with plants all around his sewing machine.  (I think the black, UV light, was supposed to help the plants grow, but I think maybe he was using the plants as a cover for growing a little Mary Jane.  I don't recall him ever getting caught.)  He had a sign on his door that read, "I must be a mushroom.  They keep me in the dark and feed me bull&#@!")  A real piece of work!  Of course, his room gave the First Sergeant apoplexy.

One of this guy's quirks was that, when he felt his room was closing in on him, a little too crowded and dark, he would sit in his closet with the door shut.  After a while, he would come out, into the light, and his room would seem brighter and bigger to him.  I guess it's a technique!  But after sitting in the dark, even a black-light-lit room seems bright.

Matthew says the people of Galilee were a people who, like my hippie-esque airman, sat in great darkness.  Only for them, it wasn't a darkness they could just step out of.  It was an oppressive, spiritual darkness.  It was a darkness of injustice, of ignorance and death - both physical and spiritual.  It was a darkness with no way out, and it ruled the lives of the people who lived there - many of whom were Gentile, non-Jews.  This was the land of Nazareth, where Jesus was raised.  Following his temptation in the wilderness, Jesus went back there, and took up residence in the nearby town of Capernaum, next to the Sea of Galilee.  Here is where he began his public ministry, teaching people that the Kingdom of Heaven was near - right at their fingertips - and accordingly, He called them to repent.  For them, Jesus' presence and teaching was like the brightness of light in a dark place.  Jesus offered freedom to those oppressed, hope to the hopeless, joy to the sorrowful and peace to the tormented.

Galilee reminds me of the airman's closet, but even more so of the culture in which I find myself every day.  There is an encroaching darkness spreading over the land: a darkness of spiritual deadness, of enforced spiritual ignorance, of spiritual poverty, of injustice, of calling good "evil," and evil, "good."  It is a darkness of  denial, murder, death and waste.  Yet, Jesus still brings light wherever he goes, and I am reminded that it is his purpose to bring that light through his people.  Remarkably, he taught his followers, in Matthew 5:14-16, "YOU are the light of the world...Let your light so shine that others may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." 

Today, I want to be conscious that Jesus has assigned to me - as he does to each of us - the task of bringing his presence, his character, his message to those all around me who "sit in great darkness."  And it is my prayer that we,  his followers, will band together in love, accepting His purpose of bringing great light wherever we serve.