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To: The Members and Friends of United Methodist Church, Monrovia, Liberia and all around the world.
Greetings. Grace and peace to you from the Triune God. We are beginning to enjoy the warmth and fellowship that are the gifts of the Pentecost Season.
But as the Season warms up and we are able to warm up to neighbors and friends, how is it with your inner life, your soul? Are we also able to warm up to God, to Christ and his CHURCH—not CHURCH as a building or an institution, but CHURCH as an interactive fellowship of Christ’s people offering hope and healing to our communities?
On Sunday, May 31, 2009, our sermon raised the question “Is Your Fire going out?” Two points were emphasized:
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There are all sorts of helpful “lights” in the world. We can be illuminated by them without letting them extinguish the light of the Spirit within us.
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We sometimes find the light of God within us growing dim, especially if we don’t tend it.
Through this medium, we want to share that message with the whole
membership and friends of the Church. Here it is:
Little boys and girls were playing outside the house in the dark in an African village. They noticed some bugs flashing light in the darkness. Some call the little insects “lightning bugs”. Others call them “fireflies”. Fascinated by the brightness of light from such little creatures, a boy ran into the house to ask his Dad, “What makes the fireflies glow?” The father did not know the answer but encouraged his son to ask his teacher at school.
The boy went back outside to admire the fascinating creatures some more. He tried to catch one. Several times he swatted at them with his hand but missed; later, his hands clapped together on both sides of one’s flight and it squished between his palms. He slowly opened his hands to see the wasted creature. To his surprise, the dead firefly was still glowing in the palms of his hands.
Excitedly, he ran back into the house, yelling, “Daddy, Daddy, I found out what it is that makes the fireflies glow!”
Pleased that his son had figured out the answer on his own, the father asked, “And what is it, Son?” The boy replied, “It’s the stuff inside!” showing his father the palm of his hand.
The same thing is true of followers of Jesus Christ. What is it that gives Christians that glow? The answer is simple. It’s the stuff inside—the light of Christ put inside Christians when we come to faith in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit with which we are baptized along with our water baptism kindles the light of Christ in us.
Jesus says to Christian believers, “You are the light of the world. Let your light so shine before people that they may see your good works and give God the glory.” When Christians flash their light together or one group after another, people playing in the dark shadows of life in this world, can see the way out of darkness into the marvelous light of God. Also, people walking in confusion and despair, can find hope and healing from the light of Christ shining in Christians.
Is your light going out? Getting dim? Losing your way? I was in the 9th grade when electricity came to my hometown. One day lights went out. Waiting to restore electricity, we saw fireflies flashing their lights. The truth is they never stopped flashing their light. We stopped noticing. There are all sorts of helpful “lights” in the world. We can be illuminated by them without letting them put out the light of the Spirit within us; without dimming the light Christ has put in us.
We sometimes find the light of God within us growing dim—and our Love going cold, especially if we do not tend it. We should not allow other lights in the world or darkness from evil to put out the light of the Spirit within us. Let your light shine and shine together with other Christians that we may give hope and healing to the world and lead others into God’s radical freedom and abundant life.
PENTECOST is a personal experience as much as a group experience. Yes, the Holy Spirit came upon 120 in the Upper Room, but it came upon them as individuals. So claim your gift and keep on glorifying God. God bless you.
The Reverend Dr. Daniel S. Brewer is currently a pastor in the Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He was President of The Gbarnga School of Theology in Liberia and Secretary of the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. |