Yr. A, Epiphany Last
February 26, 2017
Preached by the Rev. Furman Buchanan
St. Peter's Episcopal Church
1400 Words
Lessons:
Exodus 24:12-18
Psalm 99
2 Peter 1:16-21
Matthew 17:1-9
“Be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” St. Peter wrote these words as a sort of last will and
testament to some of the earliest Christians. Peter’s will was for the followers of Jesus to be attentive! Pay
attention to the light of Christ shining in the darkness around you…shining in the darkness within you. This was
St. Peter’s last will.
St. Peter’s last testament was that he, himself, had seen this light of Christ shining with all the majesty, honor,
and glory of God the Father on the mountain when Jesus’ appearance was transfigured. This was one of many
moments when Peter saw Jesus in a new light.
Be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place.
Beginning in the 1600’s, fathers of daughters availed themselves of a new technology that changed
everything…for the better! Blacksmiths began producing candle holders with this lovely spiraling flourish of
wrought iron extending upward. Inside this aesthetically pleasing spiral was a small base upon which you could
set a candle. This cutting edge technology allowed fathers to set the candle high or low in its stand.
Some of you already know what this product is called. That’s right. It is a “courting candle.” You see, when a
suitor came to a young woman’s house for a visit, the candle was set by the father according to his level of trust in
the young man. The message was real simple. When the candle burned down to the top of the metal, the visit
was over!
Let me translate a little further for our younger listeners. This is what 17 th century Snapchat looked like!
Everybody knew before you began that the moment for seeing your beloved would be fleeting…and over before
you knew it!
Be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place!
Our Father in heaven set the light of Christ as high as we can imagine. The star which guided the Magi to
Bethlehem was like a lamp shining in the darkness for all the world to see—a light to enlighten all the nations,
and the glory of God’s people, Israel.1 These wealthy gentile followers came from the east in order to behold
and adore a new kind of king. Their epiphany is our epiphany—that God has caused a new light to shine in our
hearts…a Light that gives us the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 2
Be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place!
There’s more to the story of the “courting candle.” You see, a father could change his mind during the course of
the visit, based upon how he felt about the young man. As the Father, you can add or subtract time for the visit.
(Beautiful, right? We can auction this thing off to the highest bidder at coffee hour today!)
Here’s what I want you to see. All through the course of Jesus’ ministry, the honor and glory of God was
shining like never before. Through the forgiveness of sins for outcasts and rejects, the light of Christ was
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2
This is from the Song of Simeon recorded in the Gospel according to St. Luke.
This phrase comes from the Proper Preface used during the Season of Epiphany, The Book of Common Prayer.
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shining brightly. Through the healing of sick and broken people, the light of Christ was shining brightly.
Through feeding the hungry and poor, the light of Christ was shining brightly. Through challenging preaching
and teaching like the Sermon on the Mount which we have heard for more than a month, the light of Christ was
shining brightly.
Today, as our season of Epiphany draws to a close, the candle is burning lower. The end of the visitation of the
Son of God is drawing near. Just before this morning’s Gospel lesson about the glorious Light of Christ, Jesus
was repeatedly reminding his disciples that he must suffer and be killed. Jesus was warning his followers that
his light—the Light of God’s love on earth—would be extinguished by the hand of the authorities. Jesus was
disclosing to his followers that we also have to deny ourselves, and take up our cross in order to follow him.
Be attentive to this, as to a lamp shining in a dark place.
Part of the Good News of today’s Gospel lesson is this. The Light of Christ did not just appear once above
Bethlehem as an epiphany for the Magi, or twice on the mountain of the Transfiguration as an epiphany for
Peter, James and John. The Light of Christ still shines—brightly and eternally—whenever we are willing to be
attentive.
Two Sundays ago I had the privilege of being a fly on the wall during the Sunday School hour. Within the span
of 15 minutes I heard two different stories of our people seeing Christ in a new light.
The first person described what it was like the very first time she attended an Episcopal Church. She had been
brought up to respect and revere the Bible as the word of God. She had heard it read and preached in Church,
but she had never seen the Gospel of Jesus Christ held high in the air, respectfully and reverently brought down
into the middle of the people to be proclaimed.
She said something like this: “When I witnessed the Gospel of Christ being brought down into the middle of the
people of God (just like Jesus did with his life), I wept. I literally stood there and wept. Experiencing the Good
News of Jesus Christ up close and personal like that was like coming home to a place I had never been.”
So, be attentive to the Light of Christ in your worship and adoration of God’s loving Presence, as to a lamp
shining in a dark place.
The second person described her experience as a helper at Laundry Love two months ago. She met a young
woman who presented herself well. She was clean. The clothes she was wearing were clean. When our St.
Peter’s person walked over and offered to pay for a load of washing, the young woman could not believe her
ears. It was too good to be true, because she was pulling her last dollars from her wallet to pay for clean clothes.
The young woman asked if there was any way that we could help with another load. (Do you know how much
fun it is to say “Yes!”? Have you ever thought how marvelous it is to share grace with strangers?) Our volunteer
stepped out the door of the laundry mat to help the young woman bring in another load, and it became
immediately obvious that she was living out of her car.
She was working…poor…and trying to put her best foot forward and improve her situation. And this is what
our volunteer reported to the Sunday School class two weeks ago. “Never in my whole life have I seen so much
gratitude—ever!”
So, be attentive to the Light of Christ in your generous and compassionate deeds which you do in Jesus’ Name,
as to a lamp shining in a dark place.
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Dear people, God set a Light into this dark world for all to see. We rejected this Light. The human response to
this challenging love of God was to extinguish it. You see, we acted as if we were the Father, and we blew it
out.
Thank God, that in the resurrection of Jesus Christ our Father in heaven chose to relight the flame, and so we
are able to behold the Light of Christ shining brightly and eternally. We just need to follow St. Peter’s advice,
and be attentive. The two best places to encounter the Light of Christ are in worship and in service—because
these are the two things in life that we do in Jesus’ Name. We gather here to behold the Light and bless the
Lord. And then we are sent out to share and magnify that Light, and—therefore—bless the Lord.
Here’s the thing to remember: both our worship and our love for our neighbors are pleasing to our Father in
heaven. So pleasing, in fact, that our Father keeps dialing up the candle in the darkness…so that we can
see…and celebrate…and share the Light of Christ with others. It is a good and joyful thing, always and
everywhere,3 to be attentive to this, as to a candle shining in a dark place.
Amen.
3
This phrase is found in Eucharistic Prayer B, The Book of Common Prayer, p. 367.
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