A LIGHT IN HEAVEN’S WINDOW
Scripture Reading: Matthew 18:1 – 10
Scripture Reference : Psalm 132:17: “Here, I will set up a lamp for my anointed one.”
There is nowhere to be found a more tender expression of “childlike faith” in God than that of King David in Psalm 132. I wonder if Jesus recalled the Hebrew Scripture when responding to His disciples’ hesitancy to permit the children to climb into their Master’s arms. Matthew reports His response, “Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew 18: 3)
Psalm 132 is a moving endorsement of God by David.
Expressions of gratitude to God suggest that a bond of eternal friendship existed between David and God.
“He (David) swore an oath to the Lord; he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob: “I will not enter my house or go to my bed, I will allow no sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
( Psalm 132: 2 – 5)
The determinative emotion expressed here by David can essentially be expressed only by one who has already provided “a dwelling” in his heart where God can live. Only one who willingly parts with his chosen identity to embrace the revelation God gives him can offer such sacrificial love.
Subsequently, God awards David, the King, a covenantal pledge. “In Jerusalem, My chosen place of dwelling, I will set up a lamp for My anointed one.”
It is not surprising that God’s response to David at that time was the best He had to offer!
“I will light a lamp in my dwelling place in Jerusalem as a covenant between us that we are one Spirit.”
“What an inspiring medium for memory light is!
For me, there is a childhood memory that I recall now with hesitancy.
The verdict may well be, by some, ” Too personal for inclusion here.” Yet, it illustrates the effect that Light has on memory!
My dad left home ten days after my birth. He joined a convoy in Halifax relative to The Battle Of The Atlantic in World War 11. That British ship “Empire “Bison” was torpedoed by a German submarine in the North Atlantic, with the loss of all crew but three. My mother soon learned from one, Sir R Ropner & Co. LTD.’ that she was a widow. At the age of 35, she was thus left alone to care for me and six other children.
Our home on “Rattley Row” was a three-story house with a compelling view of the sea. The most crucial understanding governing all other activities in the household was a seldom verbalized understanding that a light, glowing in a window on the second story, must never be extinguished, neither by day nor night. After the children left home, mother would be absent from the property for brief periods. But, before leaving home, she paid a next-door neighbour to ensure that this Light was burning. That Light cast an effulgent ray upon the sea that stretched into the night’s darkness.
In the early days of the tragedy, disbelief dictated the permanence of that Light in the window. Years before this, she often searched the ocean for the first signs of her loved one’s schooner returning home from a stint of days or weeks on the sea. Frequently, Dad told her of his delight upon seeing her Light in the window to welcome him home.
Gradually, the reality became like molten lead on a naked heart! Never again would she see his schooner sail into port, announcing his homecoming.
Perhaps, by now, the Light reminded her of the words spoken by Jesus,
“I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Lght of life.” Thereby providing a soothing balm for a broken heart.
One other quick note: never did any of her seven children retire at night without hearing mother’s benediction,
“Good Night My Children, I’ll See You In The Morning”.
On June 2, 1974, I was ordained a minister of The Word, Sacrament, and Pastoral Care of The United Church Of Canada. In 1990, while serving as senior minister in Gander, Newfoundland, went to Port-aux-Basque to visit my mom for what now happened to be my final visit with her. After several hours with her, I prepared to leave. I was closing the door behind me when I heard an urgent-sounding call from my mother. I returned to her immediately. I held her in my arms as she whispered, “Good Night, Son; I’ll See You In The Morning.”
Since that night, I believe the Light from Heaven has shone brighter for me than ever before.
A Prayer To Follow This Meditation
O God, Creator of the human heart with a capacity to love You. Like David, I sincerely acknowledge that longing now. While Your servant David thought to satisfy love’s demand with a stone-and-mortar building, You made clear Your preference was for human Hearts and Spirits to be Your Home!
Inspire the people of this world to make Your will their own, then shall the World and Heaven be as one. How different the world would become if people adopted David’s expression of love towards God:
” I will not enter my house or go to my bed; I will allow no sleep to my eyes, no slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
Father, through Your Word, You demonstrated the power that Word had on Your child, David! But now, that Word has become Flesh and dwells among us, with the added mystery of conquered death and glorious Resurrection. Through Jesus Christ, our risen Lord, You, Father, reveal how the love of Jesus Christ, first transforming us, can re-create the human race and build the world into a Kingdom of Peace and Love. Here I am, Lord, come and dwell in my heart. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, I pray, Amen.
Hymn: Christ The Lord Is Risen Today
https://youtu.be/F3ovIKjE4dI?si=skCQcAVf_QzE9UE1
Text Notes
- The painting is the work of my niece Sandra Hunt Gill, it is the house I use to call my home. It is located on Rattley Row in Brigus Newfoundland.
- . The Scriptures quoted in the text are from the NIV translation.