In a cook book I have at home there is a recipe for Elephant Stew that calls for 1 elephant, salt, pepper, and 2 rabbits (optional).  The instructions are these, Cut elephant into bite size pieces.  This will probably take about 2 weeks.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cook over hot kerosene fire (475deg.) for 8 days.  This will serve 1,360 people; if more are expected, add 2 rabbits.  Do this only if needed as most people do not like to find hare in their stew.  I guess this recipe is in response to the philosophical question how do you eat an elephant, the answer one bite at a time or invite a lot of people.  The point being some times we have a task before us that seems insurmountable and we are faced with a choice; be paralyzed by the task or roll up our sleeves, dig in, get busy, and move on. 

            I think that is what the two passages we read from scripture a few moments ago teach us; that with God we may face seemingly insurmountable tasks but God is with us to guide us and to pick us up when we fall, and we are called to roll up our sleeves and move on.  In the first passage we read Samuel is lamenting how poorly Saul has done as a king despite Samuel’s best efforts to lead Saul in the way God wants Saul to go.  God has reached the point where it is decided to move on, Saul isn’t cutting it as king, and so God is going to replace Saul.  But since God doesn’t physically do the anointing it falls to Samuel to go to Bethlehem to the house of Jesse and anoint David as Israel’s next king.  Understandably Samuel is not too happy about this since a) he has invested so much in Saul trying to make a good king out of him and b) Saul is not likely to take it well that he is being replaced as king.  Even though it is God who has made the decision to replace Saul as king, we are lead to believe he is the type that is not above shooting the messenger and therefore Samuel has legitimate cause for concern.  God’s Word to Samuel in this situation is “How long will you grieve over Saul?  I have rejected him form being king over Israel.  Fill your horn with oil and set out.”  I don’t think it is overly simplified to say God says to Samuel “I have moved on and so should you.  Get over it and what’s more get moving; fill you horn and let’s go.”  There comes a time in all of our faith journeys when God calls us to something big and it is up to us to take action, one bite, one step at a time, but to move on in the direction God would have us go instead of being immobilized by the enormity of the task. 

            In the second passage we read from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we have one such task given to the Ephesians and given to each of us who would be followers of Christ Jesus our Lord “Live as children of the light.”  This is where the rubber meets the road of faith on our spiritual journey.  This is not an academic exercise, this has real life application, it requires that we do something and something big.  Paul does not say believe that you are children of the light, he does not say think about being children of the light, nor does he say be admirers of the light, he says “Live as children of the light.”  Live… and you will just have to take my word for this as I have taken the word of the commentary I read about this passage the Greek word that is translated “live” more literally translated means “begin to walk”… Live…Begin to walk as children of the light and move on towards living in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord; move on out of the darkness.  As the closing verse says Christ is going to shine on you so start polishing your life so that you may more perfectly and brilliantly reflect the light of Christ.  You have heard the phrase a diamond in the rough.  I think it applies here because a diamond in the rough has value but it has more value when it is cut and polished to make it reflect light.  Like diamonds we are valuable to God even when we are in our rough state so valuable that God suffered death and resurrection to save us, to polish us up and make us flawless.  That is the truth we prepare during this season of lent to celebrate that Christ has come so that we might be made perfect.  It is Christ who shines on us that makes us perfect but Paul says it is up to us here and now to live as those who have been cut and polished by Christ and become more perfect reflectors of his light. 

            In God’s sight we are gems but there is no question we are still in need of refinement and God calls us through Paul to move on and let that refinement process take hold in us.  We are called to begin to walk, to take one step at a time out of the darkness and move on toward the light.  In Christ we are children of light and therefore it is time we start behaving like it.  That is not to say that as we move toward the light we don’t make mistakes, it is not to say we don’t depend on Christ to pick us up along the way.  Certainly Jesus is there to lend us a hand as we move on toward better reflecting his light but we have our part to play in the transformation.

             I receive a lot of stories and jokes on e-mail, some good some bad, a lot of them bear repeating but it is tough some times to work them into a sermon but I want to share with you one I read this week.  There was a little boy who was afraid of the dark.  One evening his mother asked him to go out on the back porch and bring her the broom.  The little boy objected “I don’t want to go out there it is dark.”  The mother smiled reassuringly at her son “You don’t have to be afraid of the dark” she explained “Jesus is out there he’ll look after you and protect you.”  The little boy studied his mother and asked “Are you sure he is out there?”  “Yes I am sure, he is everywhere, and he is always ready to help you when you need him,” she said. The little boy thought about that for a minute and then moved toward the back door and opened it just a little.  Peering out into the darkness, he called: “Jesus?  If you’re out there would you please hand me the broom?” 

            There is no question God loves us even when we are diamonds in the rough.  There is no question Jesus walks with us in the light and in the dark.  Through Christ God has already redeemed us but if we are to start living in the light of that redemption it requires some action on our part.  We can not simply crack the door and say ok Jesus you do the rest.  It takes us moving on, taking one step after another toward the light.  As Paul says finding out what is pleasing to God.  This is a bit of an experiment we might have to test some things out and we might not always succeed but we need to keep moving on and moving in the direction God would have us go.  Like God with Saul God has already made the decision; God has already shown us grace and judged us valuable, now the only things that remains is for us to move on and start living as if it were so. 

          I am sure you have heard it said “after all I am only human” indeed none of us can claim to be divine but we are not supposed to remain diamonds in the rough forever we are to allow God to polish us.  This is not an academic exercise, this is not theoretical speculation, this is down and dirty roll up your sleeves and jump in there tough work.  The goal of this work is to become more polished reflectors of the light.  In her book Night on the Flint River, Roberta Bondi sets out on a canoe trip near Atlanta, along with a colleague named Pam and a mutual friend named Jeff. They intend for the trip to last for the afternoon, but the outing quickly turns into a disaster. Jeff tears the ligaments in his knee and can barely walk.  When night falls they become completely lost. They leave the river and begin to hike through a wilderness so dark that they cannot even see their own hands. Through this ordeal Pam, the colleague, remains optimistic. Roberta writes that “Pam’s love carved out for me a space in the wilderness in which it was safe to breathe … [and accept] what I thought was my own impending death.” She discovers that “an ordinary human being” such as Pam “never ceases to be the tattered image of God.” Pam is reflective of God’s love for Roberta, so that for a little while she “can see God truly through that human being.”For Roberta, Pam becomes a brilliant gem. In her beautifully polished compassion and patience, the light of God shines brightly through her. This is the goal of all our work all our polishing — becoming better reflectors of the light of God so that others may see it an know God’s light also. When we focus on what is good and right and true, we turn from “diamonds in the rough” into beautiful, brilliant gems. Our compassion and patience and love create a channel for the light of the Lord to shine through us.

Much like eating an elephant this can be a daunting task.  It takes time, likely even more than two weeks.  We might have to invite some friends to help us with the task.  But one bite at a time, one step at a time we move on out of the darkness and closer to living as Children of light.  Let the journey begin.  Take the first step.  Likely you have already begun so take the next step, try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. You have nothing to lose but darkness, roughness and impurity. As you cut away what Paul calls “the unfruitful works of darkness” you’ll find yourself getting ever more able to reflect the light of Christ.  Take a moment to think about the actions and attitudes in your life that block rather than reflect God’s light.  What can you do to polish those places in your life and become the glistening gem God wants you to be?  Move on, take the next step and do it.  Amen.