February 5, 2023
"Night to Shine"
Sermon by Rev. Trip Porch
February 5, 2023 Based on Matthew 5:13-19
Today, I want to talk about Tim Tebow.
I know that is a name you probably never expected to hear from this pulpit. And I know he is mostly known as a villain to Ohio state football fans having been a major part of our loss to University of Florida at the 2007 national championship. And I'll add that he has always been a villain to me as he was the arch rival quarterback who destroyed my alma mater Florida state over and over again when I was there in undergrad.
While there is a lot not to like about Tim Tebow, and there is a whole lot I really disagree with him about from a theological faith perspective. Today I want to talk about something really good he has been a part of, something that he helped to create that has had a positive impact on a lot of people.
It wasn't on the football field, but an annual event that his foundation helped to develop in the past ten years.
It’s called "Night to Shine" and it’s a sort of prom-night exclusively for people with special needs. It’s the opportunity to dress up, socialize, and dance the night away. It happens all around the world, on the same day every year: the Friday before Valentine’s Day, so it’s actually taking place this coming Friday.
Teens and adults with special needs are celebrated in full, they are the stars of the night. And although each location is different, often they get dressed in gowns and tuxes for prom, they enter on red carpet with a crowd cheering for them. There are limousine rides, dancing, karaoke, gifts, a catered dinner, a Respite Room for parents and caregivers, and then a crowning ceremony where every honored guest receives a crown or tiara crowned King and Queen night. This is how a volunteer at Night to shine describes it:
“The title of the event, Night to Shine, truly fits.”
Every room in the place is energetic, exploding with music and dance moves. As participants and volunteers dance the night away, I couldn’t stop smiling. I was truly incapable of doing anything but smile. And while looking around the room, I couldn’t help but notice everyone else was experiencing the same thing.
The joy that filled the room was contagious. It was unthinkable that before this night, most of the people didn’t know each other, yet on the dance floor, it had seemed they had known each other for ages. Every single person throughout the night was laughing, dancing, and making memories – memories that will live on for a lifetime to come.
I started asking guests what their favorite part of the event was, a common theme was “having fun” and feeling a “sense of belonging.”
“I can relate to people here,” one guest shared, “It’s nice to just forget about everything for a night and have fun.”
[https://truett.edu/news/archive/my-first-experience-at-a-night-to-shine/]
Our scripture this week continues immediately after Jesus' words from last week. The first public sermon Jesus gives in Matthew, his sermon on the mount. It begins with the beatitudes, or the words sometimes described as Jesus’ Inaugural address or mission statement, where he intentionally blesses some of the most unblessed people in this life. The grieving, the poor, the hungry, the sick, the humbled, those who have been denied justice, those who've been abused and hurt in this world.
Right after he speaks those words he speaks our scripture today…You are the light of the world. You are salt of the world.
I have long heard these words and of course, tried to apply them myself. Jesus is clearly saying, you Trip Porch are a light for the world… without you the world would be all the darker of a place, you shouldn’t try to hide yourself, let your light shine! Or maybe, even better, you are Salt! You are the essential element to every dish. You enhance and bring out the flavor of every ingredient you touch! Without you things would just be so bland.
While there is nothing wrong with this interpretation, and in fact, I think this is a good lesson for us all to hear. That we are important, and vital to our communities, called to shine our light and illumine the darkest places. I don’t think we should stop our interpretation there because, I think Jesus is saying something more. Maybe, with the beatitudes having just been spoken before it, maybe this passage is being preached to a particular audience.
Maybe Jesus is continuing to talk directly to those people in the crowd who are from the corners and on margins, who have been hidden and forgotten from the world. People whose lights have been placed under a bushel, who have lost their saltiness.
Maybe this passage is an extension of what he’s just said and he’s continuing to remind these folks explicitly how blessed they are in God’s eyes. He’s looking at them directly and he’s telling them… you are light for this world, a light that God shines on everyone to help the world feel brighter. Light not to be hidden away or ashamed of but to shine proudly from the hilltops. Let your light shine and the world will be better for it.
Maybe he’s telling these folks who feel less than valued, as if the world would be better without them.. You are salt, the essential ingredient that God sprinkles over this world to make it a more flavorful, bright, and abundant place. Know how important you are, and never forget it because without you this world would be so bland and lacking.
Father Greg Boyle is Jesuit priest who spent the majority of his ministry in a barrio in LA working with and ministering directly to Gang members. His ministry was to bring love to these folks in particular. People who have felt like their neighborhoods have been left behind and forgotten, that they have been left behind and forgotten and that they have no other choice but to fend for themselves in order to survive.
This is how Greg Boyle interprets this section of the sermon on the mount. He says:
“Scholars contend that the original language of the Beatitudes should not be rendered as "Blessed are the [pure of heart]” or "Blessed are the peacemakers" or "Blessed are those who struggle for justice."
He says instead “Greater precision in translation would be to say,
"You're in the right place if...you are pure of heart or working for peace or in the struggle for justice."
In other words…The Sermon on the mount is not a spirituality. It's a geography. It tells us where to stand to experience God’s blessing.”
― Gregory Boyle, Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion
I love this idea. Because it helps us to see how Christ’s work in this world is directional. It helps us locate where God is focused and where we should place our focus too. If you are among the humbled, the hurting, the suffering of this world you are in the right place. You are where God’s light is shining brightest, you are where the most flavorful work is to be done. You are where blessing happens.
You who have been called to be light and salt. May you follow the geography of Christ. May you go and stand in the right place to be among the blessed in God’s kingdom. Amen.
We welcome all who worship here this morning!
WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE
PRELUDE “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” arr. Sunghwan Kim
INTROIT “Come! Join Our Cheerful Song” Dale Wood
WELCOME Rev. Trip Porch
*CALL TO WORSHIP
One: Jesus says we are salt of the earth, light of the world.
All: Our faith, our love, our hope — essential as salt and light.
One: But if salt isn’t salty?
All: It isn’t what it’s meant to be.
One: And if a light doesn’t shine?
All: It isn’t what it’s meant to be.
One: Jesus says we are salt of the earth, light of the world. Briny and bright, we are
God’s faithful people.
All: We shall be who we are meant to be in Christ: a welcoming oasis, a
compassionate community, a justice-making people, giving glory to God!
*HYMN No. 314 “Longing for Light, We Wait in Darkness” CHRIST, BE OUR LIGHT
*PRAYER OF CONFESSION written by Rev. Iona MacLean Jessica Riviere
Merciful God, You call us to be salt to the earth and light to the world. We confess that our witness to you is often bland, and reluctant. Forgive us when we fail to be an influence for good, or when we condone or do what is wrong in Your sight. Help us to flavor the earth with righteousness and to reflect the light of Your love in a dark world; through Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. Amen.
*ASSURANCE OF PARDON
*RESPONSE OF PRAISE #447 “We Are Forgiven” WE ARE FORGIVEN
*PASSING OF THE PEACE
One: The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,
All: And also with you.
WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD
ANTHEM “Praise the Lord” Florence B. Price (1887-1953)
Conducted by Ariel Alvarado
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
SCRIPTURE Matthew 5:13-19 MSG
“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? If you’ve lost your usefulness, you’ll will end up thrown away and wasted.
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
“Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures of what God has said in the Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to fulfill it. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive and working. “Trivialize even the smallest item in God’s Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
CHILDREN’S MESSAGE Trip Porch
SERMON
*HYMN NO. 753 “Make me a Channel of Your Peace” PRAYER OF SAINT FRANCIS
TIME OF OFFERING “Ave Verum Corpus, K. 618” Mozart
*OFFERTORY RESPONSE #607 “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” OLD HUNDREDTH
INVITATION TO THE TABLE
GREAT PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING with The Lord’s Prayer
SHARING THE LORD’S SUPPER
HYMN DURING COMMUNION No. 525 “Let Us Break Bread Together” LET US BREAK BREAD
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Gracious God, We thank you for the gift of the communion that through your Spirit has nourished us and empowered us to live out the teachings of Jesus Christ. We pray that we may be people who enrich and flavor this world for the better, a shining example of the love that you have for us and all things. Amen.
*HYMN NO. 312 “Take Us As We Are, O God” ENDLESS FEAST
TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING
CHARGE AND BENEDICTION
BENEDICTION RESPONSE “Lord, Dismiss Us” Dale Wood
POSTLUDE “Blessed Assurance” arr. Ahn Sun and Sunghwan Kim
Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452