Grace Congregational UCC

“A Dimly Burning Wick”
Isaiah 42:1-9
Matthew 3:13-17

January 13, 2008 - Kim M. Henning

Grace to you and peace from God who comes to us decisively in Jesus of Nazareth. Amen.

A person comes to worship and settles into a pew. Most of the time, we sit in the same pew every Sunday. You and I are creatures of habit. We walk in and head towards the same pew every Sunday. We sit down. And some of us, after we sit down, exchange greetings. My Great-Grandmother would be very proud. Great-Grandma Kasten used to say that when two human beings meet, at the very least they need to say, “Good Morning, How are you?’ Some of us enter, and we’re social bugs. Others like to be quiet. I am more the quiet type before worship. I’m not offended by talkers. I just enjoy quiet. I like to think, I like to pray, I like to listen.

Then the organist rings the bell and begins the prelude. When the prelude begins, acolytes process with light. I like that part of the worship service. The procession of light. Light comes into worship. Light pierces the dark. Light comes into our midst: the light of Jesus Christ. Our church does not practice many rituals, but the entry of light happens every Sunday. With robes that make our youth look like angels, they enter with light.

With just a small flame, they walk slowly. They carefully guard that small flame by sometimes cupping their hand in front because their one responsibility is to bring light.......and worship cannot begin without light.

Years and years before Christ...... Isaiah prophesied about the coming of the Messiah. Isaiah wrote the words that Trevor (Kaylene) read for us earlier, “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I will put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench....

Listen to Isaiah. Anticipating Jesus 600 years before his arrival, Isaiah says that the Messiah will be the delight of God. God’s Spirit will be upon him. People will recognize the Messiah, because of his Spirit. Isaiah goes on: ‘he will bring justice.’ Justice is Jesus, Jesus is Justice from beginning to end—the poor, the widow, the orphan, the diseased, the hungry. Justice. “He will not cry or lift up his voice.” Jesus did not command the worlds attention by putting on a show. “He will not cry or lift up his voice.”

Then Isaiah says—I love this—“a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.” A bruised reed----people who are down on their luck, suffering people—bruised reeds, he will not break. AND A DIMLY BURNING WICK HE WILL NOT QUENCH.

A DIMLY BURNING WICK. I like that image. Not many ever claim to have a wildfire of faith burning inside. Always strong. Always courageous. Always understanding the mysteries of God. Now many claim that. In fact, I’m a little suspicious of any who claim ‘the wild fire.’ Closer to truth, closer to reality is a dimly burning wick. (A little light in the midst of darkness. A little light that refuses to be quenched. A little light that keeps on flickering inside.)

Joseph Campbell writes, “When you get to be older and the other concerns of the day have been attended to, and you turn to the inner life—well,” Campbell writes, “if you don’t know where it is or what it is—you’ll be sorry.”

The inner life. I recently read a marriage counselor who has observed that many of his frustrated marriage are those that seem to be living from “the ‘outside-in’ instead of from the ‘inside-out.’” When we live from the outside-in, we hear conflict, we hear power, we hear competition, we hear people who don’t like us, we hear coveting, we hear envy. When we live from the outside-in, we are bundles of turmoil.

But when we live from the ‘inside-out,’ we listen first to the soul. When we live from the ‘inside-out’ we listen to those things that are from everlasting to everlasting, we listen for God, we listen to the ‘still small voice of God inside.’

The prophet Isaiah prepares his listeners for the coming of the Messiah by saying that a ‘bruised reed he will not break and a dimly burning wick he will not quench.’ In I John—John writes to the early church saying, “Little children....you are from God....for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

Inside.... What does your dimly burning wick look like?

Is your dimly burning wick—maybe, a scripture? A scripture—like, ‘God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Or is your flickering flame, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want?” Or maybe, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose?”

Is your dimly burning wick a scripture? Or might it be the testimony of another human being? Who, after reading the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, is not moved toward God in some small way? Who, after reading Martin Luther, or Dorothy Day, or Sojourner Truth could not be compelled to search deeper, live deeper?

Is your dimly burning wick a mission for the poor? Is your dimly burning wick the sacrament of Holy Communion or Baptism? Are you like me----that sometimes you just need to hold a baby and brush his cheek against yours and your faith seems in that moment to be replenished?

There is a phenomenal story in the book of 2 Corinthians—chapter 12. In 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, Paul tells an unbelievable story. Paul tells about a time in his life when he has a religious experience that is simply too much to put into words. In a religious experience that the Apostle Paul has, he talks about an ‘out of body experience’ when he is caught up into the presence of God. It is phenomenal, beyond words. Paul describes his religious experience as ‘being caught up into the third heaven.’ Paul experiences life beyond the grave. All kinds of light....

But what is interesting.....is that immediately after Paul describes this ecstatic experience, he talks about a ‘thorn in the side that is given him.’ This has always been hard for us to understand. We don’t know what Paul means when he talks about a ‘thorn in the side.’ It could be that Paul has some sort of paralysis. It could be that Paul was handicapped or had some sort of disfiguration, we just don’t know.

What we know is that after this phenomenal religious experience, in his own words, Paul is made weak. Paul experiences torment. Paul prays to God....’why?’ and ‘remove this from me.’ And the response Paul gets back from God is, “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” The ‘flickering flame that we wish would be so much more....is the perfect power of God.

The dimly burning wick...... We human beings pretend to be so strong, and we love to go after the strengths of other human beings. We cut each other down. We look for short-comings. We hurt each other’s reputation. The popularity of those magazines at the check-out counters.....is that I think we love to see the rich and the famous having wrecked up lives—like all the rest of us. Why else would we even want to read that?

Has it ever occurred to you.....that the person you love the most has only a dimly burning wick keeping them alive

Has it ever occurred to you....at the other end that the person, right now, who you are most angry with..... has only a dimly burning wick.

Or has it ever occurred to you in a moment of self-righteousness, that all that is inside you, (me) is a ‘dimly burning wick.’

We have to guard that wick, and we have to protect that wick for all we’re worth. Because that dimly burning wick is all that is keeping us alive.

Last fall, Eden Theological Seminary hosted a banquet for ‘significant contributors’. The contributors that provide significant support to the well-being of Eden tend to be lay leaders, business owners, and other community people who somehow find the means to support an institution that trains future leaders for the church. Last fall, this significant gathering of church folk got together......and surprisingly, they began by singing a song that many of us learned when we were quite young.....

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine

This little light of mind, I’m gonna let it shine,

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine......