Luminous?

My new chair proved a snare.

Yesterday, after breakfast at Dave’s Diner with my friend Barbara, she drove me home where I intended to work on those manuscript proof pages.

But first I decided to sit in my new chair to smoke one pipe.

That was about 10 a.m. ….Zonk!... I woke up at 3 p.m.

That the way I get so much accomplished—I starts slow, then I tapers off.

I like my new chair.

Barbara and I had talked about grief; her daughter died of cancer three months ago. And we talked about truth and why Jesus came into this world.

Barbara referred to the Scripture telling about the trial before Pilate when Jesus said, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice”.

And Pilate said, “What is truth”.

He left without waiting for an answer.

The night before this, Jesus had told his disciples, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me”.

At the same time, speaking of His crucifixion and His return to life again, He told them, “Ye shall be sorrowful but your sorrow shall be turned into joy…but I will see you again and your heart shall rejoice and your joy no man taketh from you”.

Grief. Trouble. Truth. Joy.

Jesus was the ultimate realist.

While Barbara told me about grief, truth and joy… I told her about archaeology.

When I was a young man, I aspired to become an archaeologist. Got sidetracked. But my interest in the subject still holds, and each day I follow news of archaeological activities throughout the world.

A big news this week is the underwater discovery of the HMS Victory in the English Channel. The ship sank in 1744 and almost a thousand sailors died. The warship’s cargo included over 4 tons of gold coins. A Florida-based company has discovered the wreck and is negotiating with the British government about how to divide the treasure.

In New Zealand this week as they study Polynesian migration patterns, archaeologists are using a device called a fluxgate gradiometer to read what lies underground in aboriginal burial sites without disturbing the soil.

But here’s the one discovery that really sparked my attention: According to Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Xinjiang in western China, “Archaeologists and local officials in charge of protecting cultural heritage have recovered ruins believed to be the worship sites of an early Chinese Christian group called Jingjiao”.

The ruins and a stele, an inscribed tablet, there indicate that the Christian religion was well established in China as early as the year 400.

And at that time, Christianity was known by the name Jingjiao (景教), it means the Luminous Religion.

That information really struck me—The Luminous Faith.

I checked my dictionary—the word Luminous refers to things: Reflecting light evenly and efficiently without glitter…radiant in character or reputation…a glow of light from within…gleaming… bright… an inner beauty… attractive excellence.

Would anyone ever describe my faith life as luminous?

Hardly.

Although I am a Christian, by nature I am also a sullen man, bitter, morose, somber, petty, resentful, holding grudges, remembering slights, complaining…

Once last year Ginny teased me saying I hold a Black Belt in whining.

And once—while I happened to be wearing my Incredible Hulk tee shirt with Dr. David Banner turned green and throwing an army tank by its cannon barrel—I got peeved at something; and Ginny observed that, by contrast, when I get upset, I transform into The Incredible Sulk.

After 40 years of marriage, my beautiful bride knows me all too well.

Oh to be a luminous Christian. To have unconverted people who cross my path daily see an attractive excellence, an inner beauty, a radiant character, which would draw them to Christ.

He is the bright and morning star, the express image of God’s person.

The Apostle John described the resurrected living Christ saying, “His eyes were as a flame of fire and His feet like unto fine brass as if they burned in a fire…His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength”.

And somehow those ancient Christians in China reflected Him so that their pagan neighbors spoke of them as the people of the Luminous Faith.

Not glitz and glitter and hype, but reflected light.

Luminosity is reflected. No self-contained light, only reflected glory. His brightness reflected in His people because of their association with the Light of the World.

As Paul said, “Christ in you, the hope of glory”.

During our prayer time together last night, Ginny read a Psalm that says, ““Let all those that seek Thee be joyful and glad in Thee: and let all such as delight in Thy salvation say always, the Lord be praised”.

Luminous Faith—this subject deserves a lot of thought… This morning I think I’ll put on my Incredible Hulk tee shirt and snuggle down in my new chair to smoke a pipe and think about it before I begin proofing those manuscript pages…

ZZZZZZ…