Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest
Recently, circulating on email, I saw some amazing photographs of animals camouflaged in their natural surroundings so that if I didn’t know what I was looking for in the photograph I would not have seen it. I had to look carefully for a while, really study the picture, and even then I didn’t always see it until I read the caption to know what animal I was looking for. Even a giraffe was hard to spot, it was so well camouflaged. But once I knew what I was looking for, it stood out and suddenly became very clear.
Today’s gospel reading (Mark 4: 21-25) brought this to mind as I reflected on the meaning of Jesus’ words. The Parable of the Lamp is familiar enough, bringing to mind the favorite hymn, “This Little Light of Mine.” What I find perplexing, though, is the verses that follow: “For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing secret except to come to light,” followed by the even more perplexing, “To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”(vs.22, 25) This last verse seems to be counter to all of Jesus’ other teachings if taken as a social teaching. But that is not the context of these words.
Scripture scholars tell us that these verses refer to God’s word and our response to it. Those who hear the word of God must become light to others, and even the mysteries revealed to the disciples must come to light. To those who accept the word of God more understanding will be given, while from those who do not accept it, what they have will be taken away. In other words, like the photographs of the camouflaged animals, it is available for everyone, but we must be open to it and spend some time with the word, even study it, and once we accept the word of God, once we have some understanding (like knowing what to look for) our eyes are open to so much more. On the other hand, those who choose not to believe, those who reject the word, the truth, will not be able to see more – the mysteries will not be revealed to them.
We are called to be light to others and, as we read in today’s first reading (Hebrews 10: 19-25), to encourage one another to Christian love and action. So I ask myself, how do I let my Christ light shine? Do I help others find their way through the dark? Do I encourage the people I live with and work with to Christian love and action by my words and actions? This letter to the Hebrews also encourages us to “not stay away from our assembly” (vs.25), meaning our church community. How can we encourage each other on our spiritual path?
Psalm 119 (vs105) reminds us that God’s word is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. Let us spend some time in prayer with God’s word, allowing that light to illuminate our path and the path of those we encounter this week. Then we will be blessed with even more understanding.
-Eileen Miller