Light in the Darkness

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:13-16 ESV).

After the flame-lighting ceremony in Olympia and its relay across Greece, the flame arrived in Athens on 6 April. To mark the Centennial of the Games, a special celebration was organized in the Panathenaic Stadium. On April 27, 1996 the flame arrived in Los Angeles. The relay on American soil began at the Memorial Coliseum, the Stadium that hosted the Los Angeles Games in 1932 and 1984. The first torchbearer was Olympian Rafer Johnson, the last torchbearer of the 1984 Games. The relay notably passed through St Louis, host city of the Olympic Games in 1904. It wouldn’t reach Atlanta until July 19th. Before that the route passed through Arlington, Texas, where our youngest son was one of the torch bearers. I remember watching opening ceremony with him that summer. In order to honor the origins of the modern Olympic Games, Evander Holyfield, originally from Atlanta, shared the torch with Greek athlete Voula Patoulidou for part of the leg in the Stadium during the Opening Ceremony. Swimmer Janet Evans took over the relay, doing a lap of the track before heading for a long ramp located at the top of the extreme north of the Stadium. She passed the torch to Muhammad Ali, who had the honor of lighting the cauldron. It was quite an experience. His comment before taking part in his leg of the relay was simply, “I hope I don’t drop it.” As I read our text today I began to think about the great privilege of being “light” in our world. The great thing about light is that it doesn’t hide very well. As a Christian this means you will be seen. The upside to being seen is that light draws attention to the message of God’s grace. People will see us live our lives at each stage of our individual journey and it can draw them to step into the light. Of course we can, and often do stumble in our carrying the torch. Sometimes the path seems far too long, much too difficult for us to finish. However, just as in the Olympic relay, there’s always someone to help finish. You may be at one of those points in your life when it seems too trying to continue; or, you may feel like your light is almost extinguished from the constant pounding of the rain and the rushing of the storm’s winds of your circumstance. Just as Jesus first lit the torch and passed it, so He now will run beside you to the finish. Just carry it a little further. Be light!