Light of the World

Sermon for Sunday, August 31, 2025

The Rev. Megan Collins

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Most of you know we moved from a house in the suburbs here in Maitland to an apartment about a year ago. Our kids went off to college and we didn’t need as much space so we downsized. We did love our house for the 9 years we lived there. Even more, we loved our neighbors, and the community we experienced on our little street. 

What we did not love was our power grid. All of the houses in our area were connected to the same power lines, except for three of us. The power line that ran to our three houses, for reasons only Duke Energy could possibly explain, ran on one small, flimsy line that started behind our house, went past several large trees with long dead limbs, all the way across to another neighborhood, connecting us to their part of the grid. 

In the hunger games situation of power being restored about hurricanes, I came to understand that the electric companies prioritize repairs that restore the most number of people, which makes sense, of course. But when your electricity coming back on relies on one little line being repaired that will only bring three little houses back online when it’s fixed, you are always at the bottom of the list.

After one big storm we were out of power for 14 days. We tried to be super positive and upbeat at first. We made pizza on our outdoor propane pizza oven. I tried to invent a little air conditioning unit using a foam cooler and a battery fan and some ice. (It did not work). Several days in, we were defeated. We moved out of our house and in with some friends across town. 

The next day Duke Energy starting sending us these helpful little texts every so often. "Power is back on in your area!" We would race over to our neighborhood, drive past one house after another, all lit up. Then we would get to our house. It was still completely dark. After a few of those disappointments, we stopped trusting the power company. Then one evening, we got another text from Duke Energy. "Your power is back on!" We thought "There’s no way. We’ve heard your lies before."

But then we got texts from our neighbors. "Your power is back!" We jumped in the car, and we were so excited. Our neighbors we could trust. If they were telling us something, it was true. We could go home. I’ve been thinking lately that maybe the way I felt about Duke Energy is how a lot of people feel about church these days. They’ve been through some storms. Things get really dark in their lives, and certainly in the world. They hear the things like “Church is great. You should come. The power is definitely on.” But they’re not buying it. Because as much as they might want to believe in the church, the institution of the church hasn’t earned that trust. Some of them have come before and it’s not been what they were told. The institution of church has made some mistakes. It’s lied to people. It’s caused harm and hurt. The church is the one that put the power line in a wrong place to begin with. It created the problem.

I was reading some research from Barna this week, which is a group that does studies and research with people in our country about religion. One article said this: 

“While Americans have mostly positive opinions of Jesus, their perceptions of the church as a whole are not always favorable.”

I believe that’s absolutely true. (I think “not always favorable” is pretty generous). The church has lost trust. Jesus, on the other hand, is not a problem for most people. In fact, the study went on to say that when they asked Americans whether they have a positive or negative opinion of Jesus, seven in 10 (71%) say they view him positively.

The story of Jesus’ life and the things that he taught are compelling. Jesus had compassion and stuck up for people on the margins. He cared about the poor and people who were sick. He wasn’t concerned with establishment rules and looking super religious. He had very little patience for people who were after power and wealth. He was always getting in trouble for doing the right thing. 

For people who have lost faith in the church, Jesus isn’t the problem. 

I didn’t really trust the electric company.

People don’t trust the institution of the church. That distrust is well earned.

But I did trust my neighbors. So when they told me to have hope, I believed them. When they said I could even trust Duke Energy, that they really had done what they had said they would, I believed them. I came home. 

A lot of people don’t trust the church, and because of that they might not come into a church on their own, no matter what we say as an institution. But they might trust you, what they see in your life, what you say about it. Jesus gave this big speech in the gospel of Matthew, and in chapter 5 verse 14 - 15 he says this:

14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

You are the light of the world.

You. He’s talking about you. 

Let your light shine before others, Jesus says. 

So that they will see the way you live, and who you are, and when they do, they might even see God.

Some of us may have some hesitations at this point with Jesus’ faith in us. Maybe you are thinking “If they are looking at my life, I’m not sure what they’ll really see God. I’m not the best candidate for people to learn from. I’m not super holy. I have made a lot of mistakes.” But what if you are exactly the one, because of those mistakes, because of who you are, that someone will see God? Nadia Bolz Weber wrote “Those most qualified to speak the gospel are those who truly know how unqualified they are to speak the gospel.”

Just before this passage in Matthew when Jesus tells you to be the light for others, he gives this list that we call the beatitudes. He says:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This is the kind of thing Jesus said that people can get on board with, by the way. He goes right from this list of people to “you are the light of the world.” He names all the pain and struggle and darkness he sees in this crowd in front of him, and then says “you seem like great candidates to be the light to others.”

For some on this list, it make sense. Of course people who are merciful and pure in heart and peacemakers and those who are persecuted for being righteous, of course they can show the people in their lives who God is.

But look at the others on this list.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. Maybe you’re thinking “I’m not a super Christian, in fact, if I were ranking my spirit, I would give it a poor. I’m like barely getting through the day, and I forget to pray a lot of the time, and when I do I feel awkward and I haven’t even a lot of the Bible.”

You are the light of the world.

Blessed are the mourning. Maybe you’re thinking “I can barely get of bed I’m so overcome with grief. There isn’t light in my life right now. I’m a mess. I’m mourning the loss of someone, or the loss of my dreams, or the loss of my job or the loss of a relationship.”

You are the light of the world.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst. Maybe you’re thinking “I’m seeking God, or I’ve just come back to church, but I’m brand new at this. Surely someone with more experience should do it.”

You are the light of the world.

It doesn’t have to be perfect.

It just has to be real. 

It has to be you. 

Someone in your life trusts you. 

I do some communication work for the church in South Asia, and one of the countries I work with is Bhutan. It’s a country where the church isn’t on the radar for most people. Only 1 - 2%  of people in the country are Christians. The church is not something most people are looking for in their regular lives. But one of the people there wrote: “My neighbor took notice of the peace and joy that my family and I have. It sparked curiosity in them. This has opened doors for us to be a beacon of hope in our community.” 

Your light doesn’t need to be perfect, or even spoken all the time. It just has to be real.

So that when people see that glimmer in your life, that hope or peace, it makes them curious. 

You are the light of the world. 

What if you  want to be light, but honestly it’s so awkward to talk about faith or church in casual conversation?

Someone says “Hello, how are you today?

Do you really reply “Do you know my lord and savior Jesus Christ?”

And they reply "Ummm, I’m just the drive through attendant, did you want a chicken sandwich?"

That’s not what we are asking you to do, I promise. 

Even as pastors, there are moments when we hesitate to bring up church or faith in a conversation. We don’t want to make it weird. We’re not always sure how it’ll land. We were swimming in the pool at our apartment the other day, and someone asked what we do for a living. We hesitated, not because we were embarrassed, but because we didn’t want to make it weird while we were all in that little pool together. One time we were out for dinner, and someone asked us about our jobs, and (this is true) Dave said “I’m an accountant and she is an ophthalmologist.” 

I know what we’re asking sounds difficult. 

Let's keep it simple. 

Here are two steps to be able to be that light in the world, to take seriously that you might be the only one they will trust and also not making it weird. 

1.Prioritize listening.

The easiest way to show you care about someone else, is to listen, but we are all so bad at it. We ramble on about our own lives to try and connect, but people really just want to be known. Try asking good, curious questions, and then listening. Last week Dave and I went out to dinner with some people from church, and we needed to kill time some time until we could order off the Magical Dining menu (because we got to dinner at 3:30 like super cool people), so we asked the waiter this question “Tell me like your story.” That’s not even a very good question. It’s so general. But you guys . . . he did. We learned about how his mother came here from another country, how she opened a restaurant to support him and his siblings. She paid for his delivery as a baby by bartering free meals at the restaurant that she owned with the doctor. He talked about how he feels a certain pressure in his job selection because of the sacrifices she made. Don’t start by sharing your story, start by listening to theirs. Then, if you sense the time might be right:

2. Bring a little church into it.

Wear something with our church’s name on it when you are out in the community. That’s an easy way to start a conversation if someone is ready. Or when they ask you “so what are you doing this weekend?” and you run through your list - the kids have a baseball game, we’re going to Ikea to get a new desk - add in “and then we are going to our super awesome church.” Maybe even invite them to join you. Or even just share something on social media from the church’s page. (Next Sunday is a great time to invite people to join you because in addition to church we will have tons of food and bounce houses and cotton candy. We have a good time around here, and we’d love for people to join us). 

We take seriously the trust it takes for you to invite people to join you at church. 

We also believe when you do, it could help people believe in the church again.

Not because of who we are. But because of who you have decided to be. 

If Barna’s research is right, the obstacle to being in a faith community isn’t Jesus.

It’s the church.

Not only for people who have never been, but for people who went to church and were hurt, who didn’t see the Jesus they read about in the gospels in the way the church teaches and leads. There are plenty of people who would love to be a part of a church community but have seen the ways the church has used scripture to justify all kinds of harm against marginalized groups and just can’t see Jesus in that. And they’re right. But what if they came here?

Over the past few weeks, we’ve talked together about how this looks here at Maitland Pres, about who we want to be as a church if we are serious about being that city on a hill, that light of the world. 

We talked about four statements - 

1. That we believe it’s Never Too Late to Start Over

2. We Fight to Fix What’s Actually Broken

3. We Insist on Real Community

4. We Love Loud

We believe this can be a church where people can experience God’s grace, and start over in their lives. 

We believe that this community will fight together to address what’s actually broken in the world, the injustice and the systems that harm people because of who they are, or who they love, or where they were born. 

We will insist on a place where everyone can be truly who they are, and we will protect those who are most at risk. You can bring your whole story here.

We will love loud. We will love like Jesus. 

We will lift burdens. We will welcome questions. We will share our stories. We will heal. 

We will try, so hard, to show the light of Jesus to our community. 

But of that doesn’t start here, in this building.  It starts when people see these things in you.

Because when they see that kind of church, not in a building, but in a person, maybe they will start to believe in the church again.

Maybe they’ll trust you enough to come home.