Candle
Psalm 112:4
Originally scheduled for March 15
You may never have considered this, but please
picture in your mind that you are in a very dark wood. The only
thing you can see clearly is a candle at some distance in front of
you. The interesting thing about this is that the candle is much
easier to see in total darkness than it is in daylight. It’s also
interesting that the candle attracts those who have nothing to hide
in the darkness – but repels those who are in the dark of the night
so that no one will notice what they are doing. The candle, you see,
has the grand advantage of simplicity. The flame of a candle looks
pretty much the same on every candle in the world; you can look in
the distance and say, “that’s a candle!” It is an interesting
thought for churches which do not light candles anymore.
Let’s take that comparison a little bit
further. In medieval times churches were lit in the night by candle.
The candle in the cathedral drew you towards itself. If you were
going to see, you had to become a seeker and go to the light. In
today’s churches the candle is replaced with stage lighting, large
overhead projection screens and other audiovisual secrets. The net
effect for the visitor is that the lighting says, “take a seat; be
entertained.” You don’t have to seek anything; we have the power of
millions of candles to light it up for you and you can see it from
anywhere in the house. The medieval church had no choice but to use
candles; there seems to be nothing in particular wrong with having a
lot of stage lighting in the modern church. But it does change the
way in which we interact with the worship service.
Communion, in a sense, maintains the function
of the candle. All the rest of worship is modern — it’s under the
lights and does not depend on time of day. The sound system is
designed to make sure everyone can hear what’s going on; if there’s
an error in the sound system, the error is in too much sound rather
than not enough. So the church finds itself in need of the latest
and greatest audiovisual systems. Communion, however, is an old and
simple thing. It has but two elements and everyone in the church has
to handle those elements one way or another. So while everything
else in the church is bathed in the complex world of audiovisual
systems, communion stands out by its simplicity.
May I submit to you that Christ probably
intended it that way? He did not want this ritual ceremony to be
overwhelmed with massive sound systems, or loud choral singing, or
anything else overwhelming. He made it simple and small so that you
could not just sit in the pew and watch it go by. He wants you to be
a seeker. In fact, he wants you to seek Him. In communion you find
his body and blood. Be the seeker; find the Master.
