Historians today consider Abraham Lincoln to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, president of this country. However, that greatness was not evident to all during his lifetime. Lincoln received a large amount of bitter – and often contradictory – criticism.

To his critics Lincoln told a story about a traveler who got caught in a terrible thunderstorm. The night was totally dark and the flashes of lightning provided the only clues to the path. One bolt struck quite close and the crash of thunder brought the man down to his knees. He was not a praying man, but he made a short fervent petition, “Oh Lord! If it’s all the same to you, give me a little more light and little less noise.”

All of us can identify with that prayer. We live in a world of a lot of noise. It can sometimes confuse and disorient us. What we need is less noise and a bit more light. This Wednesday we begin a season which invites us to turn off the noise and let in the light. On Ash Wednesday, Jesus calls us to embrace the practices of prayer, fasting and almsgiving – not to make a public show, but to allow God’s light to enter our hearts.

As we pray for God’s light, we ask that we might in some way become vehicles of that light to others. It is fairly easy to make noise, but a lot harder to give light. It requires restraint, timing, discipline – above all, asking the Lord to help us say the right word at the correct moment.

I am not talking about being brilliant – most of us are not. What counts is being steady and thoughtful. A lightning flash gives off enormous energy – and noise – but it lasts only a few seconds. What if all that energy could be harnessed? Scientists at General Electric once calculated that a single bolt of lightning has enough voltage to light a home for 35 years.

Jesus tells his disciples, “You are the light of the world.” As we approach the beginning of Lent, we ask Jesus that we might give off less noise – and more light.

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