Rosemary Sutcliffe’s poem, The Lantern Bearers, include these words:

"We are the Lantern Bearers my friend: for us to keep something burning, to carry what light we can forward into the darkness and the wind."

Jesus lived in troubled times, in a country occupied by a cruel and oppressive foreign nation, where taxes were high, people were treated with great injustice, many were evicted from their homes and farms and those considered unclean lived alone in the mountains. They were made to feel different. These were tense times. It is in these times that Jesus called his followers to be the light for this world, salt for the earth. He did not call for a revolution, for violent overthrow but to be a light that showed a different way.

It would seem that we too are on edge, concerned and uneasy about the present as well as the future. But if we are lantern bearers, what do we want our light to reveal, to bring out of this darkness? Jesus told his followers that they were to be ‘the light of the world’. People don’t light a lamp and put it under a bowl, He said, ‘Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house’. Our faith calls us to community, to work for justice for everyone, no matter who they may be.

Surely these times ask something of each of us. We cannot sit back and wring our hands and tut, tut. But what do we want people to see, to hear, to experience.

Is our lantern to be one of comfort to those who are suffering, being victimised? Is it to be a light that shines into dark corners and recesses where ignorance and prejudice lurk? Is our light to be one that shows the way to build understanding and relationships, a light which shows where we might grow in our care for each other, be they family, friend or stranger?

Sadly, in times such as these it is so easy to create divisions and exploit them. You challenge my way of thinking, my way of doing things, so you are different and not ‘one of us’, not to be trusted. People who can be regarded as inferior even, because of what they believe or how they live, rather than seeing them as people on a common journey seeking meaning and purpose, seeking light, a way forward.

In today’s world where such extraordinary upheavals are occurring, we are called to be responsible for each other, to seek greater understanding of why others think and act in the way they do, not to sit in judgement or to feel superior, to get connected to others, to work with others so that we might work together to live in a world of our own choosing, rather than what others may impose. If we are Christians, surely that is the message that Jesus taught us (Matthew 25: 31-46).

What do we want our world to be, what we want for our children and the generations which follow. We cannot simply leave that up to others.

Our conduct is salt for the earth. The way we live our lives, the way we relate to each other, forgive each other, work to understand each other, care for one another, the way we think and talk about what is just and right, the way we use this world's goods, the way we are stewards of creation – all these make us witnesses to those around us, to our children, to the next generation. What do we want them to see? What will they see us committed to? Working for? What will they know of our dream, our vision? What will they know of Jesus and his vision?