Isaiah 6:1-8; I Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11
The Reverend Paul D. Allick, St. George’s Episcopal Church, February 7, 2010

This year especially I was hoping for a good sign from him. I was hoping that as he emerged out of that cavern we would know that the coldness and darkness of these days would soon pass. That they would vanish sooner than usual.

I am not speaking here of Jesus. I am speaking of Punxsutawney Phil. I was hoping that this most famous of groundhogs would not see his shadow; that spring would come early. My hopes were dashed. According to Phil, we will have six more weeks of winter. Just goes to show you to not trust in anything except our Lord. (But those groundhogs sure are cute. I just want to hug them and feed them fresh cabbage.)

Fortunately a much more important Holiday occurred on February 2nd. Not quite as popular as Groundhog Day but much more hopeful. It was the Feast of the Presentation. On this day we remember Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to the Temple forty days after His birth. They were following the Law (Exodus 13/Leviticus 12) in offering their first born son to God. They brought along two birds to sacrifice in place of their son. The aged Simeon and Anna were there praying to see the final salvation of all people. When they see Jesus they know that the true light has come into the world.

Saint Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem in the 7th Century, wrote about this Feast Day. It is also known as Candlemas, the day we bless candles. St. Sophronius wrote that our lighted candles represent Christ who expels all darkness and they represent the brightness of our souls when we meet Christ. He teaches that as the Blessed Mother carries the light in her arms, “we too should carry the light for all to see and reflect the radiance of the true light as we hasten to meet him.”

Unlike Punxsutawney Phil, Jesus Christ has nothing to do with shadows; He brings only light. Therefore we who claim Him as our Lord should only bring light.

St. Sophronius says, “Let us be shining ourselves as we go together to meet and to receive with the aged Simeon the light whose brilliance is eternal.”

Too often the Church both as a body and as individuals do not bring light to the world but only more shadows. Think about how many people out there won’t come near a Church. They don’t come because they don’t want to be judged. They don’t feel “good enough” to be here. Or they won’t come because they don’t want to be part of the drama we too often project; the drama of institutional infighting.

And in our individual discipleship how are we bringing light to others? It isn’t only about walking around talking about how good Jesus is to me. It is also about being kind, patient and tolerant. It is about giving a good word instead of showing forth more strife and anxiety.

We attract light by showing forth light. We show forth light through encouraging others and showing how the light of Christ has made us more peaceful people.

Satan wants to keep us in the shadows. If he can do that then he can keep the Church from doing its mission. We call Satan the Accuser because he uses our weaknesses to shame us and hold us back. He tells us “You are not good enough or smart enough or religious enough to do anything good.” He holds us in the shadows so that no one else will ever see the light we carry in our arms.

As a Church we get caught in the shadows when we focus on our weaknesses and not our strengths. We talk about how small we are and how we don’t have enough of certain things. We wrangle over details and lose sight of the big picture. This only produces more shadow so that we can’t see the light that God has put right in front of us. We give up and we give in.

Peter is ready to stop fishing. He and his mates have been at it all night and have caught nothing. Jesus challenges him to hope. “Throw the net out one more time.” Peter protests but does it anyway. And they pull in so many fish that the net breaks.

Like so much of Scripture, if we take this literally, it doesn’t get us to the true lesson. This story isn’t about fish; its about seeing the light of Christ among us, right in front of us. And in that light anything is possible.

All we need to fish for people is to accept the light and then let in shine forth in actions and words. Just as the apostles did, we need to leave everything behind and follow Christ. We leave behind our hang-ups and attitudes that get in the way of the light.

Even as we follow the light we will continue to make mistakes but that cannot stop us from seeking out the light. Every time we entertain the shadows by falling short of our goals, by saying the wrong thing, by fussing and fighting with each other, we just throw that net out again. We start over.

As St. Sophronius said, the brilliance of the light of Christ is eternal. Eternity is a long time. That is how long we have to get it right. This how long we have to shine on others and on ourselves.

Reference:
From a Sermon by Saint Sophronius, bishop
Liturgy of the Hours, Volume III, pp.1349-1351
Catholic Book Publishing Corp.  New York 1975