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“You are the light of the world… No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, 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 in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
As George H.W. Bush accepted his party’s nomination for the presidency in 1988, he praised the American people as “a brilliant diversity, spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.” In the years that followed, his “thousand points of light” metaphor became the subject of intense ridicule. Particularly memorable were the impressions done by SNL’s Dana Carvey, who once shared his basic formula for impersonating the President. "You start out with Mr. Rogers,” Carvey said, “and then you add a little John Wayne." Admittedly, I laughed at those skits along with the rest of America. But I always thought the metaphor deserved more respect than it got.
“A thousand points of light” was never meant to be a policy in itself. It was meant to be a mindset… a positive orientation… a healthy place to begin the shared work of living together as a community. For people of faith, it is also an idea that is consistently supported in the Bible. Just as the Magi followed the star to the manger, the Word urges all disciples of Christ to “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7), to trust scripture as a “light for our path” (Psalm 119:105), and to “live as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8).
As a new year begins, most of us are thinking about a fresh start, looking for a healthy mindset that can guide us through the days, weeks, and months that lie ahead. Based on personal conversations and observations, I know that many of us are finding that work to be particularly challenging this year. If you are one of those people, perhaps you can start with the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount quoted above, words to remind us that we are indeed points of light in the world. Setting our eyes on God, trusting that faith, hope, and love really do abide, we are called to seek out the points of heavenly light that are always around us -- and let our own lights shine as well.
As a mindset, an orientation, and a healthy place to begin, it is a solid option for a New Year’s mantra. It reminds me of the approach Fred Rogers once described, a strategy he found to be helpful in times of confusion or fear. “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news,” Rogers said, “my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.'”
This year, in a similar way, I will be looking for points of light. Who are the people who are leading with love? Where are the workers who are feeding the hungry, binding up wounds, and caring for the widow, the orphan, and the strangers in our midst?
This year, I want to find them, stand with them, and do my best to let my own little light shine with them. It will not always be easy, but with a little grit and determination, I’m going to try to start with Mr. Rogers… add a little John Wayne… and see where the points of light can lead me.
Blessings to each of you, in the hope
that your New Year will be full of light,
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