A Light that Still Shines

I want to retell a story from Mother Teresa that is just a wee bit important.

Here goes:

Mother Teresa tells the story of an old man in Australia.  He lived in a small village and he was all alone.  He was worse than alone for he was ignored.

One day Mother Teresa visited him and asked if she could clean his home and wash his clothes.  He denied her this privilege.  She persisted.  He finally relented.

As she was cleaning, she discovered a beautiful lamp covered in dust.  Only God knows how many years had passed since he last lit it.

She asked, “Don’t you ever light your lamp? Don’t you ever use it?

He answered, “No.  No one comes to see me.  I have no need to light it.  Who would I light it for?”

She asked, “Would you light it every night if the sisters came?”

He replied, “Of course.”

From that day on the sisters committed themselves to visiting him every evening.  We cleaned the lamp, and the sisters would light it every evening.

Two years passed. 

Mother Teresa had completely forgotten that man when he sent a message to her:  “Tell my friend that the light she lit in my life continues to shine still.”

She says, “I thought it was a very small thing.  We often neglect small things.”

~In the Heart of the World - Mother Teresa)

This story moves me on two levels. 

First – it was a small thing for the sisters to do each evening.  Their job was to light the lamp.  They were bringing light to the dark corners of this man’s home. 

I’ve never thought of the idea of turning on a light or touching a flaming match to a kerosene lantern as a major event.  It is something we do to brighten the space in which we are for the moment. 

As she pointed out, it was a small task.  It took so little effort that it could hardly be called ministry.

Second – she and the other sisters lit more than a lamp in that man’s world that day.  They lit his existence.  They gave a gift of attention and esteem.  They brought a warmth to his soul.  They said to him, "You matter."  He was worthy of enlightenment in his corner of the world just as you and I are worthy of enlightenment. 

And the enlightenment brought more than physical light. 

It brought significance. 

It brought joy.

It brought hope.

This little old man’s life was transformed in small and lasting ways by this act of charity.

To whom have you and I dispensed light this week?  Whose world have we made a little bit brighter because of some small, random act of kindness.

~Have I brought a smile to someone’s face this week?

~Have I encouraged one to hold on a bit longer, or shown some light on a dark and dismal problem.

~Have I let someone know that there are some people in this world who still have a heart of compassion?

Those gifts, those moments, those random acts of kindness matter as much as giving a thousand dollars in some offering or to some ministry.

Have a blessed day … and pass the blessing to someone who crosses your path this week.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

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