Let Your Light Shine

So the Christmas celebrations have come to a close and here in Tenom we begin to look at the church programs and the directions they will take in the coming year.  I have to say, being in on this stage of planning is exciting.  I get to know what's happening from the start instead on hopping in halfway through.  I feel more involved.  But as I look back on the Christmas season, there is one particular theme that sticks out that has stayed with me as we've made plans at church.  It's something I can't seem to get out of my head and I keep seeing it pop up everywhere.  It's the experience of seeing how everyone around me contributes their light to the whole.  I guess this whole idea really started to stick with me during Christmas celebrations. 

A few nights after Christmas Eve (in Malaysia we celebrate all during the 12 days of Christmas) I joined some of the church members to go to one of the villages for Christmas dinner and worship.  We were all squeezed into a church that resembled a one-room school house (it could have doubled as the village school for all I know) and we were in the midst of once again celebrating Christ's birth.  In the middle of the sermon, the light in the church flickered out, leaving everyone in pitch black darkness.  Without missing a beat, everyone in the church automatically pulled out whatever light they had on them at the time.  Some had large flashlights to walk from their homes to the church in the dark.  Others just had the small glow of their cell phones.  A few even pulled out lighters and held them high.  The sermon continued and after a few minutes some of the men of the church managed to get the light back on again.  What struck me was how quickly everyone responded with what they had.  Everyone's light, no matter how big or how small helped to brighten the church.  I couldn't help but think what it's like when the power goes out back home in the US.  We completely freeze.  Everything comes to a halt.  But here, everyone came together and we continued on with hearing the good news of Christmas.  No one thought the light they had was too small or not enough compared to their neighbor's.  No one thought that their light was not needed. 

This image got me thinking about how people share their gifts in the church here.  Everyone gives all that they have and no one thinks that their gifts are too small or that someone else can cover for them.  In fact, not only does everyone show genuine appreciation for the gifts that are shared, they make a point of letting people know that what they do is appreciated.  The gifts that everyone has to offer are poured in to make the church prosper.  Recently in the village, one of the church members shared a sermon on 1 Corinthians 12.  Yet again, this theme of spiritual gifts came back to tap me on the shoulder.  As we plan for the new year, I think about what Lutherans often say at Baptism.  "Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:16).  How will I be using my spiritual gifts in this coming year?  How will those around me pour out their spiritual gifts?  My hope and prayer for this year is that I don't hold back because I doubt myself and the light that I can share.  I also hope and pray to not miss the light that is shining all around me from those people who come together and share whatever they have to offer.