In his book Aqua Church 2.0, Leonard Sweet shared an interesting tradition practiced by a church in Switzerland. For centuries, everyone who attends each week brings a light from home. Their sanctuary slowly becomes filled with more and more light as people arrive. When someone misses a service, the rest of the congregation says to that person, “We missed your light.”
There is something beautiful and powerful about that tradition. It reminds us that the Church is a collection of people united by the Holy Spirit, rescued from the darkness by Jesus. The idea of “light shining in the darkness” is one deeply embedded in the Bible. A theme communicated through songs we teach to our children like “This Little Light of Mine.”
It must be important if it is a theme found throughout all of Scripture. But why? This week we begin a three-part series called “Make Disciples,” at the heart of making disciples is the theme of “light shining in the darkness.”
Leviticus 24:1-4(CEB):
The LORD said to Moses: “Command the Israelites to bring pure, pressed olive oil to you for the lamp, to keep a light burning constantly. Aaron will tend the lamp, which will be inside the meeting tent but outside the inner curtain of the covenant document, from evening until morning before the LORD. This is a permanent rule throughout your future generations. Aaron must continually tend the lights on the pure lampstand before the LORD.
This is the word of God
For the people of God
Thanks be to God
Leviticus is a very odd place to begin a series on making disciples, but it is certainly a worthy starting line. The theme of “light shining in the darkness” is found throughout the Bible. And the book of Leviticus is the Old Testament handbook on how to worship God, so it is not as odd of a choice as you would think.
This passage talks about a piece of furniture in the Tabernacle (or Tent of Meeting), where the Israelites carried out their worship of God. Before you start thinking this is an IKEA commercial, every piece of the Tabernacle is a copy of something in heaven. The Tabernacle and all the practices associated with it are a parable, pointing us to Jesus and the holiness of God. Our focus is on the golden lampstand. The golden lampstand, or menorah, in the Tabernacle, was a beautifully crafted piece made of pure gold with seven branches, each holding a lamp. It provided light in the Holy Place, symbolizing God's presence, guidance, and the illumination of His truth.
Verse 2 says, “Command the Israelites to bring pure, pressed olive oil to you for the lamp, to keep a light burning constantly.” The people were to provide the olive oil for the lamp. They had to make it, and it had to be pure, meaning free from any pulp or chunks. Thus the light coming from the lampstand was a gift from the people, symbolizing the Israelite’s role as God’s chosen people. As God’s chosen people they were to be a source of God’s light to the other nations of the world.
Verses 3 and 4 both tell us that Aaron’s job was to take care of the lamp, making sure it never went out. Aaron was the High Priest, he represented the people to God and God to the people. Part of that role required him to make sure the lamp stayed going, so the gift of the people would serve its purpose.
What does this have to do with you and me? I promise it has something to do with us, and with making disciples. There is an amazing scene in Revelation 1. John is stranded on an island, left to die, and as a pastor, he is worried about the churches under his care. That is when Jesus comes to him in a vision. Jesus talks with John about seven stars and seven lampstands. In Revelation 1:20, Jesus explains what they are, “As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands; the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
Jesus says the lampstand represents the church, and in Leviticus, the oil for the lampstand is provided by the people. The Church is the people of God. What are God’s people supposed to do? Be God’s light to the world.
The light of the world is Jesus, He is the Light that shines in the darkness. He is the only hope for salvation. When we place our faith in Him, His Holy Spirit takes residence in our hearts. Our hearts begin to shine with His presence. Paul writes in Philippians 2:15, “… be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world.” We shine because of Jesus’s light in us.
Jesus is our high priest, seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Remember, it was Aaron’s job as high priest to tend to the lamp. And Jesus is who tends to us, making sure we keep shining for Him. We each must respond to His work in our lives, as we grow in His grace. This growth process is not by our strength or might but by His Spirit in us.
Do you remember the illustration I shared at the beginning? The church in Switzerland? “I missed your light.” Your light is valued and needed by me and your church family here. It is a source of encouragement to us when we are struggling to shine. Jesus shines through you, reminding us of His love for us. When you are not here you are missed.
That is important. But, our purpose as the people of God is to shine as God’s light to the world, those who are living in darkness. One of the things that determines how bright a star shines is how close it is to Earth. Likewise, the light of Jesus shines the brightest from our lives the closer we get to those living in darkness.
