Bringing Out the God-colors

The winter Olympics are set to get under way today in Sochi with opening ceremonies scheduled to begin around 11:14 a.m., EST.  The strange start time is a reflection of the nine hour time difference between here and there, and the use of the international standard for time which is the twenty-four hour clock, hence the 2014 games begin this evening at 20:14...those clever Russians!  Of course, you have probably heard the persistent reports about unfinished hotel rooms, sporting venues that have had to be retooled after athletes complained, and the growing concerns over security,  The latter seems to have caused the greatest concern, prompting our government to issue warnings this morning about toothpaste tube bombs and cautioning Americans at the games to be alert and cautious wherever they go.  American athletes have been encouraged not to wear their team wear outside secure areas.  Yet, most who have traveled there say that they will go on about their business, participating in this historic sporting and cultural event.

 

We live in a world of caution where things once taken for granted now become suspect.  The great shame is that no area seems immune.  Shopping malls, hotels, airports, stadiums, churches, quiet neighborhoods all are susceptible to the kind of violence that indiscriminately and thoughtlessly destroys. The temptation to turn away, to exempt ourselves from the world around us is indeed inviting.  But isolation isn't the answer.  To do so, some tell us, is to give in to terrorism...but it is much more than that.  We don't fight that isolation just to make a statement, but rather to embrace what the Creator set within each of us, the need for community.  We grow, mature, and are strengthened in community, and not just in our small circle of friends or acquaintances with whom we are most comfortable.  Our perspectives are broadened and those of others we encounter when we make ourselves available to the world. Jesus prayed that his followers would make a difference in this world, not in the safety of isolation or the comfortable routines of lock-step conformity. He called those who would follow him to be salt and light.  Hear these words of Jesus taken from Matthew 5:14-16 in the Message translation: "You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."

 

And so, dear friends, shine!  In a sometimes dangerous, disappointing, uncertain world, let us not hide under a bucket of fear, but step up on that light stand and let the light of Christ shine, bringing, as Peterson translates, all the God-colors in the world.

 

Sunday begins our week of hosting hypothermia.  Much work has been done, many prayers offered.  Now, let us be the light of Christ, bringing out the God-colors. Shine!

 

Jim Abernathy