THE GREAT CANDLE-SNUFFER

 A friend of mine of the Senior-citizen variety, one who, when he opens his daily paper, turns first to the obituaries to see if any more of his friends have gone on to their eternal reward—this friend of mine likens life and death to a candle; each of us is one. And we go on glowing until the Great Candle-Snuffer in the Sky goes "WHHH."

Well, I've never heard it, death, explained quite that way before. It's a good analogy at any rate. God is in charge. When it comes time to be our time, that's it. And God's the one who puts out the fire, blows out the flame. God's in charge of death just as God is in charge of life.

So if we look at life and death that way, we have two choices, a negative and a positive, about how we can live our life. The negative, as the term implies, is the bad, the wrong choice. Life lived negatively as regards the GCS is one in which we're constantly looking around awaiting our turn. The fear of the dark, the fear of the lights going out syndrome. Growing older means growing towards death. And it means not living. It means we're busy about dying.

On the other hand, the positive side of the candle analogy means that we're busy about living. Sure, our candle will get snuffed someday, maybe someday soon, maybe before we're ready. But that is not our concern. Our concern is to make sure our candle burns brightly up there on the lampstand and not under the bushel basket. It'll burn slower under the basket, of course. No ill winds will get to it there causing it to burn almost out of hand.

But it can't be seen under the basket. And candles are to be seen so that they can lead the way. Besides candles under a basket can go out just as easily and just as quickly from lack of air. They suffocate to death.

So it can be with us. We need air to live. Our flames of life need air to breathe. Sure, sometimes it may be that our life is burning out of control – all manner of winds, good and ill, are blowing at us, around us, wearing us down so much so that we're tempted to hide for a moment under some basket to get some rest.

But that's not what candles are for—remember? Yes, it's risky to stand out there in the wind, to get blown hither and thither, to say by our light: "Follow me; I’ll show the way." But – need I say it again? – that's what candles are for.

A good baptismal custom is to present the newly baptized with a small candle symbolic of the Easter Candle. It is a reminder that as a Christian we are to be the light of the world. We are, by our very life, to show others what it means to live a life of faith in Jesus Christ, to be the light in this sometimes dark and windy world.

And that light of ours is to glow brightly until it is blown out by God. Yes, it can go out if we don't give it enough fresh air. This fresh air comes from making sure we don't hide our light, our faith, but live it. And it also comes from renewing that air around us through learning more about our faith.

Okay: I'm beating around the bushel basket: Life, our life, is to be lived fully at all times. It is to be lived in faith, not fear. And it is to be lived knowing that when we’ve done all that God has asked us to do, when we've lit the way by our life, God will blow out that flame and give us a new life with God forever.