Pass Me The Flashlight, Please

Matthew 4:12-23

When I was a young boy one of my favorite things to do was go camping. Being a scout gave me lots of opportunities to do so. I can remember camping on the beach, in the mountains, in backyards, and just about anywhere one can set up a pup tent.

As a scout we would attend a major camp-out once a year. Every troop in the state was invited to bring their tents and tools, and every scout brought their list of badge accomplishments yet to be achieved. We would arrive at camp in the morning and set up our tents by ourselves. We would sit around the campsite and share our knowledge of knots and plants. We would make fires and cook our meals, which mostly consisted of hot dogs and marshmallows. As night fell we would sit around the big campfire and listen to stories both funny and spooky. At the end of the night we would help put out the fire and settle into our tents for sleep.

Putting out the big fire was always something I looked forward to. These camps were held on a mountain, high above the main roads of the north shore of Hawaii. In those days the traffic was light, the need for lights minimal. As you might be able to imagine when the big fire was put out we were cast into a dark, cold night with nothing to obstruct the bright lights of the night sky. I would always wait with baited breath for that first night to go dark so I could stare upwards and look for the milky way.

Once the embers of the big fire were out, and the darkness of the night was upon us we had to find our way back to our tents. Walking in the dark over uneven ground in an unfamiliar place is never easy. Because we were good scouts, though, we came prepared with flashlights and lanterns. I sit here smiling at the memory of hundreds of lights shining in the darkness, each beam of light pointed to the ground to safely show the way to our shelter.

That image, the image of a light beam shining on the ground to show the dangers which may lie in our path, is what I thought about after reading this passage. The author recalls the words of the prophet and writes, "the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." This image of a light to show us the way out of the darkness and shadows brings to me the thought of walking through the unknown, shining a beam onto the ground so that we may see any obstacles in our way.

This light is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who guides us along our journeys of life and helps us to see the obstacles which hinder us. Jesus' teachings are meant to show us that although we come across events in our life which make it seem as though we've become separated from God, the truth is that God is always with us. As the Apostle Paul says, nothing can separate us from the love of God; nothing.

The disciples in our story made a choice to leave everything they knew - family, friends, jobs, security - to follow the light into the unknown. The question for us is, can we do the same? Are we willing to grab hold of the flashlight which shines brighter than the sun and use it to shine on our path to help us discover the things which make us think we are separated from God?

Only you can make that decision, and when you do you will see the hundreds, if not millions of others who hold that same flashlight to help you along your path towards the love, peace, and joy which the unconditional love of God has for us all.