Dr. David D. Young
September 23, 2007
Psalm 4
Luke 11: 33-41
"The Recognition of Radiance"
(The Inward Look)

Today we continue on in our Fall Sermon Series:

"Opening Opportunities: Windows for Discovery."

Last week we explored the window of the upward look – recognizing that all real focusing in the life of faith begins by directing our gaze toward God. On sunny days – we know that the light above us enables us to see that which is around us – so too, the light of God allows us to see the unseen realities of life through the eyes of faith – and days like today can help remind us of that.

In all of her work with her patients, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, an expert in the field of death and dying – has observed,

"People are like stained-glass windows; they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."

Whereas next week we will take the beyond look, this morning we turn to the window of the inward look.

A young woman off at college wrote her parents with the following letter,

"Dear Mom and Dad,

I am sorry to be so long in writing you again but all my writing paper was lost the night my dormitory burned down. But I’m out of the hospital now and the doctor says my eyesight should be back to normal sooner or later.

The wonderful boy, Bill, who rescued me from the fire, kindly offered to share his apartment with me until the dorm is rebuilt. He comes from a good family so you wont’ be too surprised when I tell you we’re going to get married. In fact, Mom you always wanted a grandchild so you’ll be glad to know that you and Dad will be grandparents next month.

No please disregard the above practice in English composition. There was no fire; I haven’t been in the hospital; I’m not planning to have a baby, I don’t even have a boyfriend, but I did get a ‘D’ in French and an ‘F’ in Chemistry and I wanted to be sure you received this news in the proper perspective. Love, Mary."

This story has to do with perspective and perception. For while grades and external accomplishments are important – they pale in comparison with the preciousness and fragility of life itself. The way we look and see – has so much to do with the way we perceive the meaning of life within.

The following incident is an illustration of the importance of perception,

"It happened in a train compartment in Czechoslovakia; and in the compartment were a Czechoslovakian, a Russian officer, a little old lady and a young attractive woman. Shortly after the train entered a dark tunnel, the passengers heard first a kiss, then a loud and substantial slap! The young woman thought, ‘Isn’t it odd that the Russian tried to kiss the old lady and not me.’ The old woman thought, ‘That is a good girl with fine morals.’ The Russian officer thought, ‘That Czech is a smart fellow. He steals a kiss and I get slapped.’ And the Czech thought, ‘I am really smart. I kiss the back of my hand, smack a Russian officer, and get away with it.’"

How we see things on the outside – effects how we interpret things within our framework for understanding.

The first movement of the inward look has to do with understating the issue of perception. And it comes from our New Testament lesson that Beth Beam read for us in verses 34 and 35,

"Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is sound."

When your perception is sound,

"…your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness."

Why is it that our society is so bent on accomplishment and achievements? The emphasis many of us place on our careers, our roles, and our status makes perceiving the deeper meanings of life a low priority. Because when our lives are organized around busy-ness, success and accomplishments – then what we perceive and experience within doesn’t really matter.

Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple, once wrote,

"Because mind is finite it attaches undue importance to those goods and evils which it apprehends as affecting itself; its perspectives are falsified; what is near at hand looks larger than it is, and what is far off, smaller than it is."

I believe what he was trying to say is that we moderns get so pre-occupied with the glamours of life, the close at hand, the catch phrases, the in look and the latest book – that our vision is obscured to seeing the light of God’s intention and purpose for our lives. Your perception, "your eye is the lamp of your person," said Jesus.

So we are called to carefulness of sound perception. Our perceptions color the way we see everything – and as I have submitted they influence our priorities and our values.

The Swedish born, Dag Hammarskjold, who was for a number of years Secretary-General of the United Nations – once wrote in a very personal moment,

"The purer the eye of her attention, the more power the soul finds within herself. But it is very rare to find a soul who is entirely free, whose purity is not soiled by the stain of some secret desire of her own. Strive, then, constantly to purify the eye of your attention until it becomes utterly simple and direct."

Our perception will always be human partial, incomplete, and temporary – for as the Apostle Paul wrote, "now we see dimly, but then we shall see face to face."

Nevertheless, ours is a striving for clarity of eye control.

"The lamp of your body is your eye. When your eye is sound, your whole body is full of light, but when your eye is not sound your whole body is full of darkness. So be very careful that your light never becomes darkness."

Challenging words, these words of Jesus.

Well, sound perception enables the second movement in the inward look and this is absorption.

(Linus walks by carrying a candle.)

Charlie Brown: What’s this?

Linus: I have heard that it is better to light a single candle then to curse the darkness.

Charlie Brown: That’s true…although there will always be those who will disagree with you.

Lucy: You stupid darkness!!!

You see, the sounder the eye of our perception – the greater capacity we have to absorb the light of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And this is the core of what I want to share this morning – the inner light that can be ours by eyes of faith.

Perhaps it is true – that the longest journey is the journey inwards. Rosaland Russell shares this insight,

"I think the older you get, the more your are struck by the brightness God gives, the more you find light alone to be a wonderful thing, the more you feel there’s something else."

Within the context of illumination it may be that the relationship of self with self is the most complex of all humankind. Look at our society’s obsession in recent years with the whole self-help movement. People who have written books in this area have made a killing on Americans’ need to get control of their lives. If you follow steps one, two, and three you can improve your self-esteem, have more confidence, take charge of your future or make your first million and so on.

Pop-psychology is an example of chasing the latest self-help fad. But by faith, we believe that what is behind us and what is in front of us are small things compared with what is within us. And we long for something deep within. And that source is the source of God’s light radiating within us.

Through the inward look we can come to know "the recognition of radiance." But as long as God remains totally distant and removed – as a solely ethereal being – we remain untouched and unchanged in the inner person.

Too many people are too inclined to think that Christianity is merely intellectually assenting to belief on the one hand or actively engaging in doing good on the other. Both of these perceptions miss the opening opportunity of inner integration which comes through the inward look.

In an address on Psalm 55, the English preacher, P.T. Forsyth, said,

"The motto of the world is ‘Onward!’ The motto of the saint is ‘Upward!’ but the motto of the Cross is ‘Inward!’ You have acquired a real spiritual culture when you realize that you can only find the onward and the upward through the inward."

It is little wonder that the Psalmist could write in our text for today,

"Commune with your own hearts on your beds, and be silent."

That is, in the still of the night – when things are quiet and the rush of the world is hushed – get in touch with your heart – with your truest inner self and know that God is God! That is what absorption of the light is all about. Through the upward look we see God’s light and through the inward look we recognize God’s radiance within.

Yet, what of the inward struggle of light and darkness that Jesus alludes to in our scripture lesson? All persons who focus on outward goodness – assume goodness within. But Jesus could say both of the following,

"If your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in shadow, it will be radiant – it will be like having a bright lamp to give you light."

But then while dining with a Pharisee he said,

"You Pharisees are fond of cleaning the outside of your cups and dishes, but inside yourselves you are full of greed and wickedness! Have you no sense? Don’t you realize that the one who made the outside is the maker of the inside as well?”

Out of my own experience and out of the experience of others, I have come to know that the greatest battle between good and evil – is inside a person.

We are, all of us, a mixture of light and darkness. To live many years at all – is to know as have the poets through out the ages – of the dark night of the soul. I have never met a person who has known the presence and light of God at every moment in their lives.

And yet, if we are to claim the light of day, as it were, no matter how dark the hour – it will be by way of the inward look! Only in the inner chambers of our heart can we discover that God illumines the darkest corners of our lives. And we dare not forget that it is our Christ who said,

"I am the light of the world."

During a forty-eight hour period of enlightenment it was the 17th century mystic Angelus Silegius, who wrote,

"Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem be born, if He’s not born in thee thy soul is still forlorn.

The cross of Golgotha will never save thy soul, the cross in thine own heart alone can make thee whole."

Absorbing the light of God in Christ Jesus our Lord is to take the inward look of faith. And then flowing to the third movement in the recognition and radiance is this statement of theologian, Matthew Fox,

"The outward person is the old person, the earthly person, the person of this world, who grows old ‘from day to day.’ His end is death…the inward person, on the other hand, is the new person, the heavenly person, in who God shines."

Sound perception of the light enables absorption of the light which leads to our reflection of that light. We can both absorb and reflect the light – much as sand and water do at the beach. We do not, so much, emit light on our own – the primary source is God. But we can perceive it, absorb it, and reflect it!

Perhaps you have known a few special people in your life in whom you have seen the light of God. My guess is that upon closer examination you would have seen a person – who perceived God’s light soundly – who knew the need to absorb it – and who wanted to reflect that light to others.

We can absorb and reflect light. To only absorb it would be to receive only. To only reflect it would be to give only. But the life of faith is sharing gifts by both receiving and giving.

In a certain mountain village in Europe, several centuries ago, a nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to his townspeople. At last, he decided to build them a church. No one saw the completed plans for the church until it was finished. When the people gathered, they marveled at its beauty and completeness.

Then someone asked, "But where are the lamps?" "How will it be lighted?"

The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls. Then he gave to each family a lamp which they were to bring with them each time they came to worship.

"Each time you are not here, that area will be dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church, some part of God’s House will be dark."

Now, we live in a day and age when not every family can be in church every Sunday. But we do live in a time when darkness threatens both without and within and when people desperately need the light.

It is for those of us who would take the inward look – those of us in this church who would dare to care – by perceiving the light – absorbing the light – and reflecting that light as best we can. For there will always be others coming into this household of faith – be they family members, out of town guests, or first time visitors – and it is for us to share the light of faith.

In closing, I share with you two thoughts. The first again from the pen of Angelus Silegius reflecting the need for the inward look. And the second from Jesus in our text for today which makes the shift from the inward to the beyond - toward which we will focus for next week.

"No ray of light can shine if severed from its source. Without the inner light I lose my course."

"No one takes a lamp and puts it in a cupboard or under a bushel, but on a lampstand, so that those who come in can see the light. And give for gifts those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you."

So be it and Amen!