Last week I said because you are children of almighty God who wear the armor of God like a super suit, and do battle with the most villainous of foes, that y’all remind me of superheroes. I still stand by that statement, but today I would like to make a clarification. You see, there is an aspect of being a superhero that I very much do not want you to imitate. As you may very well be aware, some superheroes have secret identities. Batman’s secret identity is that of a rich playboy named Bruce Wayne, Wonder Woman’s secret identity is a that of a submissive secretary named Diana Prince, and Superman’s secret identity is that of a mild-mannered reporter named Clark Kent. The purpose of the secret identity is to conceal the truth about the individual so that no one would suspect that behind the disguise of a pair of thick rimmed spectacles was actually a genuine superhero.
I understand why Superman and Wonder Woman have secret identities, it adds to the drama and suspense, but you, Christian, aren’t supposed to. You aren’t supposed to have a secret identity. Your faith is not something that is meant to be concealed. People are not supposed to be shocked and surprised when they discover that you fear, love, and trust in God above all things. As a Christian, you aren’t supposed to have a secret identity. Your faith is supposed to be common knowledge among the people of your community. That you fear, love and trust in God above all things is supposed to be exceedingly obvious to your friends and family.
Today our God instructs us to make our identity as Christians known. Jesus compares the Christian to a light shining in the darkness and then in Matthew 5:16 He commands us, saying, “Let your light shine.”
It was probably on one of those mountain ranges that stretch north from the sea of Galilee where Jesus had spent the previous night in private prayer that He spoke the words of our text. As the rosy-fingered dawn stretched out a crossed the peaks and valleys of that mountain range it brought with it a multitude of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear Jesus teach and to be healed of their diseases. When Jesus saw the crowds gathering before Him, He began to preach what has become known as the sermon on the mount. “Blessed are the poor…, blessed are those who mourn…, blessed are the meek… 11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way, they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”[1] With these words Jesus makes it clear that anyone who reveals themselves as a Christian will be noticed by the world, and the world will not always welcome them with open arms and treat them with kindness. Quite the opposite actually. Very often the person who shows themselves to be a Christian will be insulted and slandered just like the prophets of old.
Knowing very well how strong the temptation is to avoid such persecution, Jesus tells the disciples gathered before Him on the mountain and He reminds the disciples gathered before Him in this church, “14 You are the light of the world.” Before He commands you to shine, He tells you how it is that you are able to shine. You shine because you are light, light is what you now are. But that is not what you always have been. You have not always been light. There was a time when the shadow of sin was wrapped so tightly around you that you could only be described as darkness…, and you liked it that way. In the darkness you felt free to satisfy the desires and cravings of your sinful nature, in the darkness you convinced yourself that you could hide from the punishment you rightly deserved, but in the darkness you were damned. But your God of great love and rich mercy called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. Saint Paul, who knew a thing or two about living in the dark, said, our God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”[2] Our God made His light to shine in you. You are light because that is what Our God has made you to be.
You are the light of the world, that is what your God has made you to be. Would you like to know why? Jesus says, “A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.” Jesus has made His light to shine in you so that His light can shine from you. You are to be like a city on a hill and like a lamp in a house, that is you are to be recognized as a Christian by both the people in your community and the members of your friends and family.
God wants the people of your community to see the light that shines inside of you. So then, why are you so determined to hide the fact that you are a Christian from them? With your words and with your actions you so camouflage your Christianity that no one would ever suspect that your God has made His light to shine in you. Foul and filthy language flows from your lips. “It’s just shop talk”, you say, “that’s the way everybody in my industry talks”. Perhaps they do, but why do you? People are treated coldly and callously by you. “It’s just business” you say. “That’s what you have to do if you want to close the deal, meet your deadline, keep your investors happy.” I am sure that is what some people feel they have to do, but why do you? Your social media is filled with snark and sarcasm. “That is how people get their point across in this cynical society” you say. Perhaps they do, but why do you?
God wants your friends and your family to see the light that shines inside of you. So then again, why are you so determined to conceal your Christianity from them? With your silence and with your acceptance, you so camouflage your Christianity that no one would ever suspect that your God has made His light to shine in you. A friend becomes entangled by a sin. With each passing day they become more and more entrapped by the devil’s snare. It is clear that they are unable to free themselves from the sin. A good friend would use the sword of truth to set them free, so why don’t you? A family member has drifted away from the faith and embraced the philosophies of the world. It has been a long time since they have been in church. For all practical purposes they have become a prodigal child. A loving person would urge them to return to the faith, so why haven’t you?
Why do you try to hide the light that shines inside of you? Why are you trying to keep your community and your friends and family from knowing you are a Christian? Is it because you are ashamed of the one who caused His light to shine in you? Is it because you are ashamed of Jesus? “Certainly not!”, you protest. But,are you sure? I’m not. We can tell ourselves that we are just trying to get along with people. We can tell ourselves that we don’t want to upset our friends and family. But the truth is, the reason we put a bowl over our light is because we are ashamed. We are ashamed of Jesus.
God forgive us. Forgive us for hiding our faith from our community. Forgive us for concealing our Christianity from our friends and family. Forgive us for being ashamed of you. God forgive us, for Jesus sake, forgive us.
God does forgive us. He sent His Son so that we might be forgiven. Jesus was not ashamed to become one of us. Jesus was not ashamed to live under the law with us. Jesus was not ashamed to be condemned in place of us. Jesus was not ashamed to suffer for our sin. Jesus was not even ashamed to die for us. Because of Jesus, God is not ashamed of us. Because of Jesus, God is proud of us, proud of the light that shines in us, so proud that He wants that light to shine from us for all to see.
Jesus says, instead of hiding your light you are to “put it on a stand” so that it can “give light to everyone”. Did it ever occur to you that you live in this community and your home is filled with the people it is filled with because this is the lampstand God wants your light to shine from? Did it ever occur to you that the people that are in your life are in your life because they are the ones upon whom God wants to shine some light? Jesus says, “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Let your light be seen by the people in your community and let it be seen by your friends and your family. Let your light be seen in the good deeds that you do. It is not hard to let your light shine. In some ways it takes more effort to hide your light than it does to let it shine. You don’t have to stand on a street corner and scream at people. You don’t have to dress in a monk’s cowl or nun’s habit. You don’t have carry around a big black bible. More often than not, doing a good deed means just being yourself. It means letting the light that shines in you naturally shine from you. Being a light in a world consumed with greed is as simple as being generous. Being a light in a world full of cruelty is as simple as being kind. Being a light in a world full of ridicule is as simple as being respectful. Our world is so incredibly dark with sin, it’s not terribly difficult to let your light shine. So, let it shine.
Let it “shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” You know, sometimes we saved by grace people get accused of dismissing good deeds. But the truth is, we do good deeds just as much if not more than the saved by works people. We just do them for different reasons. We do good deeds to give praise to our Father in heaven. You see, good deeds for us are conversation starters. “Hey man, why are you so generous?” “I’m glad you asked...” “Excuse me miss, why are you so kind?” “It’s simple, the reason is...” “Young one, why are you so respectful?” “Well sir, let me tell you...” “I do these good deeds because God called me out of darkness into His wonderful light. I do them because the same God who created light in the universe created light to shine in my heart. It is a light that reveals a suffering Savior who paid for my sins. It is a light that reveals a resurrected Savior who provides me salvation. It is a light that by the grace of God shines in me. It is a light that God wants me to share with you.”
You see, my friends, secret identities are all well and good for the likes of Superman and Wonder Woman. But secret identities are not for you. God wants everyone to know that you are a Christian. God made His light to shine in you so that His light would shine from you. So, let it shine. “let your light shine before men (the people in your community and your friends and family), that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Let your light shine. Amen.
[1] Matthew 5:3-12
[2] 2 Corinthians 4:6