This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:1-5)
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Scott Mission Presentation: Carrol Castle
This year for our Christmas offering, the Worship, Mission and Outreach Committee has decided to make a donation to the Scott Mission, a Christian non-denominational outreach based on Spadina Avenue in downtown Toronto, where it serves the poor, the hungry and the homeless. The mission was started about 70 years ago, as a soup kitchen. There were days when 1000 men lined up to be fed. Today, men, women and children are cared for. The staff and 5000 volunteers are involved with the mission, offering food, shelter, child care and a food bank. They serve without expecting anything in return. This ministry of love cannot continue without donations. For just $4.25, you can provide a mean for one hungry person thia Christmas ... $4.25. You will receive your Christmas offering envelope with your December newsletter, or you can ask an usher for one. I've never been to the Scott Mission, but my son Darren has been there when he was homeless in Toronto! So I am asking you to be generous with your Christmas offering, which will transform lives, through the Scott Mission!
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What would it look like if we really walked in the light? It's a question that should challenge people of faith. Christian faith makes large claims and huge promises and offers great hope – but the words we use are meaningless unless we back those words up somehow in a practical way. Isaiah calls people of faith to “walk in the light of the Lord.” The question becomes: what is light? In a spiritual sense, what is light? If we truly “walk in the light of the Lord” that where exactly are we walking and what are we doing while we walk?
It seemed to me that the introduction to the work of the Scott Mission was appropriate as the beginning of our message time today, and as a part of our kickoff not only to the Season of Advent but to the beginning of a new church year, in which we hopefully commit ourselves anew to doing the work Christ has called us to do. The work of the Scott Mission is light being given to those who are walking in darkness of various kinds, and light is what I want to talk about this morning.
Light is a common metaphor in the Bible that's used to represent so much. Jesus is called “the light of the world” and He tells us that we are “the light of the world.” The 23rd Psalm tells us that we walk “through the darkest valley” - and since we walk “through” it that presumably means that when we come out the other side we enter light. It was the light of a star that started to draw people from the far corners of the world to Jesus. The shepherds were drawn to the manger by “the glory of the Lord [shining] around them.” All references to light – and what do they stand for?
Light is hope. It's what takes us out of the uncertainty of the darkness. Light is assurance. It's what helps us out of the paralysis of fear. Light is joy. It's what takes us out of the depths of sorrow. Light is life. It's what rescues us from the grip of death. As we “walk in the light of the Lord,” we discover the meaning of Jesus' words: “Do not be afraid.” Over and over again in the Gospels, Jesus says variations on “do not be afraid.” Our society is, in so many ways, filled with so much fear. The light of Christ is intended to get us through the darkness that fear represents, and as fear disappears from our own lives, we're inspired to not just “walk in the light” but to offer that light to others; to invite those who live in darkness to join us on the journey. In a later passage from Isaiah, the prophet says that “the people walking in darkness will see a great light.” As Christians, we believe that “great light” to be Jesus, and we understand our call to be offering that light in which we walk to the world; to all who walk in darkness.
The First Sunday of Advent is a time for hope. I wanted to start the message time today with the presentation about the Scott Mission, because it represents a light of hope to a great number of desperate people. A number of years ago, Lynn and I got up at 4:00 on a Saturday morning and traveled 3 hours with a group of about 8 people from Zion United Church in Sundridge to downtown Toronto to volunteer at the Scott Mission. And I saw first hand the impact that the Scott Mission has on lives. It does the work of Christ to the people Christ came to serve. Christ came to demonstrate God's love to those who knew no love. His life was spent constantly reaching out to those who had been cast aside by society, who were condemned to the margins, who were considered unworthy and unclean. And Jesus reached out to them and he loved them. Sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes are mentioned by the Bible as among those that Jesus sat and ate with, showing them love and compassion and deliberately inviting the wrath of the pious religious folk, who considered such people to be beneath them and worthy of nothing but contempt. Today we might add drug addicts and alcoholics and just those who find themselves homeless to that list. The Scott Mission and others like it are examples of not only walking in the light but of being the light to others. It's also a challenge to us to not only walk in the light, but to be the light to others.
“... let us walk in the light of the Lord” is what the prophet Isaiah told the people of God. We are “the light of the world,” Jesus said.What if we really lived that way? What if we really called people to hope instead of leaving them in the despair that so often seems to grip so many lives. This is what Advent is about – a reminder that even when things seem to be their bleakest, hope reigns and a light shines, and suddenly – Christ appears. As we wait, we walk in the light and we are the light. We are called to bring hope to the hopeless - loving each other, and helping people who need help, and standing up for people who can't stand up for themselves, and giving a voice to people who can't speak for themselves, and proclaiming the salvation of God and the coming of God's grace in Jesus even to those who feel the most helpless and the most unworthy to receive it. That's called “light.” That's what we walk in! That's what we are!
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