9 February 2014 - a passing thing, this shadow

9 February 2014 - a passing thing, this shadow


You are the light of the world.

We are the light of the world, not a light.  If we are covered with bushel baskets the world will be in darkness.  OK, the world is in some reasonable darkness now.  Look up.  Do we see the open skies of God's world?  Or are we closed in, trapped in fear, hiding in these bushel basket lives?

How do we get from here to the lamp stands?  How will we find the courage to be so elevated that we can give light to the entire house.  How will we transition from being an armored bunker to being a city on a hill?

Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.”

If we remember that Jesus is the source of our light we won't be afraid to let him shine forth through us.  Our own abilities and reputations are no longer central.  It is about him and what he can do.  We are the light of the world because he is the light (cf. Joh. 8:12) in us.  We must walk in his light or we will walk in darkness.  If we try to shine in this darkness on our own we will be no better than the blind guides Jesus describes (cf. Mat 23:24).

The first reading is specific about how to let our light shine.

Share your bread with the hungry,
shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
clothe the naked when you see them,
and do not turn your back on your own.
When we show God's love to those around us we become the light we are meant to be. 

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;

After all, God clothes us in the white robes of baptism, feeds us with the Eucharist, and shelters us within the home of his Church.  He doesn't turn his back on us, but offers the sacrament of Reconciliation to all who ask.  His heart for us enables us to have a heart for others.

So, in his light, using the love he shows in the sacraments, let's sweep away the darkness of the old order in our hearts: "oppression, false accusation and malicious speech" because only the "just man is a light in darkness".  And it is better to live in the light than to live in darkness.  Darkness always means fear.  It is uncertainty.  We are lost and at risk in the darkness.  But to be in the light is to live in freedom and free from fear.

He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.

We can't manufacture this light.  That is the hard part.  We must constantly turn to God and seek it from him.  There are no programs, systems, or methods for this.  It only happens in the context or relationship.  We can't put it in a manual and tell people how to do it.  Even the sacraments are not magic.  They require the right disposition.  Grace is received according to the mode of the receiver, as theologians tell us.  What we can do, in the absence of systems, is point to the one who is the source of it all, to rely on him.  And ultimately, that is enough.

I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,
and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of Spirit and power,
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God.