notre dame montreal St

Sermon for Candlemas 2015

Reverend Canon Charles Royden

Family Service - Light for Candlemas

Candlemas is about Jesus being revealed as the light for the whole world. We are going to think about what it means to be light. There are different kinds of light and I have brought four different lights today

The first is a torch.

We use a torch light to show us the way we are going as we walk along. So the light shows us the way. A verse which shows this from the Bible is

Psalm 119
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

God leads us through life, helps us along the right pathway.

 

The second is a birthday candle.

What is this light for? It is a light that we have to show we are celebrating and joyful. As a Christian people we are supposed to be joyful and that is something we have not always been good at. A verse which illustrates this is fromt he birth of Jesus- his coming was a time of joy

Luke 2:10
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

 

The third light is a night light

If we are little and we go to bed at night we might occasionally be frightened by the dark. The night light helps us not be afraid, it is a comfort for us. God's light is also a comforting light. There is a verse which mentions this aspects of God very clearly

2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

 

The final light I have today is an old train lamp. It has a red piece of glass which you put infront of the parafin burner. It is used to tell a train to stop. There are other lights like this, youc an find them in car accessory shops and they are used to warn motorists to stop when there has been an accident. The light of God is also a warning light. God warns us of danger and the need to repent and stop what we are doing and change our ways.

Luke 24: 45
Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised;

Of course this is not something which we can do on our own strength and scripture tells us that God will give us the strength to do whatever tasks he has for us.

This passage from Luke has the following words at the end

but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

God wants us to go in his strength and not on our own. Listen to this poem. It expresses the belief that God does not ask us to walk in his light, to follow his calling, to live the Christian life unless he gives us his grace for all things we are to do

The Will of God
by Rebekah Nolt
Remember, Remember, Remember, Remember..

The will of God will never take you
Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you,
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.
The will of God will never take you
Where the spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.
The will of God will never take you
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercy of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.
The will of God will never take you
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.