The Light that Saves

The Beatitudes Part I

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.” Mat 5:14-16

The Fresnel lens was pioneered by Augustin-Jean Fresnel in 1822. It was essentially a light magnifier. It uses the principle of bending light through a lens with “… concentric rings [that] are actually ‘steps’ (thick ridges) in the lens surface. Each step bends the light slightly more than the one beneath it, so the light rays all emerge in a perfect, parallel beam that travels many kilometers/miles across the ocean.” ¹ From one fairly bright light an even larger beam could be spotted by ships, it was an invention that “saved a million ships.”

Followers of Jesus remind me of the Fresnel lens. We are the “light of the world.” We are the hope bringers to the nations. The Fresnel lens provided the light to enable ships to navigate the seas without crashing upon the rocky shorelines. In the same way, our lives bring light into the areas that surround us. When people are in darkness, they can not find their way.

In his teaching on the mountainside Rabbi Jesus was showing people how to walk in the ways of God’s commands. Rabbi Jesus makes it clear that he had no intention of weakening the law, rather he was calling them to a higher standard – the standard of love. To “fulfill” the law to the people in the lands and times of the Bible understood it as “Just Do It.” In this sermon Jesus was bringing the Torah and understanding of it to its fullest meaning on how God wanted them to truly live.

As the people sat on a mountainside by the Sea of Galilee Jesus was laying out the case to not do as little as possible but rather he challenged the listeners to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Rather than doing the minimum, he was challenging them to go beyond the official interpretations of the law. Israel should have been that “light to the Gentiles” that God desired when he “called” Israel.

As followers of Jesus, we too are called to live this life and go beyond empire building to kingdom living, bringing a new way of living. As Paul states in Romans 13:9b, 10:” … and whatever command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” This is the light, like a Fresnel lens, to the world, it brings hope, salvation and light!

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth). Eph 5:8, 9

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