And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.  And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.   Genesis 1:14-19

 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.   Matthew 5:16

“Momma, I can see the moon!  Why is the moon shining in the daytime?”  Those are familiar words for most of us.  All of my children have said them at one time or many times.  I must admit, I wonder about the same thing.  Isn’t that what we do when we see something not seen in it’s ordinary way?  In it’s ordinary place?  In it’s ordinary time?

I must admit that I love watching the stars.  I wish I knew all of the constellations and how to spot them but I have not spent that much time trying to understand the technical aspects of star watching.  But I do love gazing at them.  One of my favorite spots to go in the Texas hill country is to “Old Baldy”.  As you might suspect, it is a small “mountain” that is mostly rock and is bald on top—meaning there are no trees or significant vegetation on the top.  You have to climb over 250 steps to get to the top and once you are there you can see the stars clearly.  You can see the milky way.  It’s best to take a blanket with you and plan to spend some time lying on your back.  If you are lucky you will see a shooting star.  What is not present are city lights that make star gazing difficult.

I was in the Holy Land last year when I looked up as saw the moon shining in the middle of the day in the bluest of blue skies.  It was the middle of the day and what amazes me is this: you can see the contours of the surface even in the middle of the day.  It definitely was an unexpected light!

In God’s infinite wisdom and creativity these lights: the sun, moon, and stars were spoken into existence and in their place in creation.  They have a purpose and a place and yet at times, it seems as if that gets all muddled up.  We find ourselves gazing at the moon in the middle of the day.

Jesus said that we are the light of the world.  And as light, we are to shine God’s love to those around us.  We are not to hide the light of Christ within us and not reflect that light in our lives.  That would be like having a night light in the kitchen so you can see well enough to avoid walking right into the island in the middle of your kitchen.  You know what happens?  You blast into the kitchen, not paying attention, and bam!  You are in pain, and maybe even on the floor.  I know this because I did that just the other night.  The lesson of course is keep the night light programmed to come on.  Let the light shine on you.

We too must let our light shine all the time.  And in order for it to shine, we must have a power source.  Jesus Christ is that power source.  As my friend, Rev. Cynthia Cross says, “You must be connected to the power source.”  If we place our hearts and lives in Christ, we will have enough light, enough love, enough of everything so we can shine the Savior’s light upon those around us.

But what about those days when we spot the moon in the middle of the day?  I wonder if you have ever been caught off guard by the light of Christ in someone else?  When you have felt so loved, so comforted, so assured by someone that you knew it came from God?  That they were connected to the power source who is Jesus Christ?

Wednesday night, I listened as Bishop Swanson preached at St. James Episcopal Church.  In the middle of his message all the lights went out in the sanctuary—all of them except the stained glass window at the front of the sanctuary and the narthex lights in the back.  All of a sudden we were plunged into darkness and yet, the assurance of Christ’s light came in the words the Bishop spoke and in the cross shining in the design of the stained glass.  We finished the service with communion in the darkness.   The contrast between the darkness of the sanctuary and the Light that draws us to Christ’s table was striking and very moving. We gathered to fellowship afterwards in another building (which had working lights) where we talked with old friends and met new ones.

Following that fellowship time, Larry, Mrs. Swanson,  Bishop Swanson, and I went to dinner.  As we finished our meal, our waitress came to tell us our bill had been paid by someone else.  We figured out a couple who had been at the service and had gone to the same restaurant  had gifted us with our meal.  The Bishop’s message and the worship service had moved and blessed them in such a way they decided to bless us.  I don’t know about you, but that hasn’t happened much in my life.  And when it does, I am always surprised.  The light and love of Christ unexpectedly is revealed.

Your days may be easy and filled with light.  Your days may be more challenging.  And your days may feel down right awful.  But the love of God is just as sure as the sun coming up in the morning and setting in the evening.  It is just as sure as the moon and the stars in the night.  It is as spectacular as a shooting star and the northern lights.  And it can be as surprising as seeing the moon shining in the middle of the day.   Just when God reveals light and says, even when you are lost, my light shines.  When your sorrow is so great that it engulfs you, my light shines.  If you can’t see or feel my light, I will place a sign even in the sky to remind you.