Mark
4:21-23
Light.
We crave light in our lives most of the time. And, we have a lot of light
around us in 21st Century North America. Our houses are lit, our
offices are lit, our stores are lit. Our cars have lights, our streets have
lights, and our sports fields have lights. In fact, we have so much light that
many people have to install “blackout” curtains so they can sleep. Yeah, light
is not something we’re running short on.
But
in the 1st Century AD, as Jesus walked the roads of Judea and talked
with his disciples, the world was a very dark place. As soon as the sun went
down, the world was dark. Yes, they had oil lamps, and they could build a fire
outside, but that was nothing like the light we know today. When Jesus told
this parable about lamps, his disciples knew immediately the foolishness of
putting a lamp under a basket. The world was already dark enough, so why would
anyone put a lamp under a basket?
So,
let’s just think through all of this, shall we? First, if it’s dark out, and we
put our lamp under a basket, the lamp is not doing what it needs to do, what it’s
made to do: Give light to the room or the house (houses were much smaller back
then). Then, if we light a lamp in the middle of the day—in daylight—it makes
no difference...it’s kind of useless. But, if we are in darkness and light the
lamp (and don’t cover it!), the lamp does what it’s supposed to do. I know—this
is sort of common sense…but we have to remember that Jesus is not talking about
just any lamp or just any light.
When
we come to Jesus, when we say “yes!” to God, when we are baptized into the
Church, God gives us his Spirit—effectively, God places his Light within us. We
become lamps—the Flame of God burns within us. Yet, we tend to do just what Jesus
talks about in his parable today—we hide our light, we put ourselves either
under a basket…and we just hang out with other lamps.
When
I taught at the John Wesley Methodist Seminary in Monterrey, Mexico, I asked my
ministerial students about their non-Christian, pagan friends. They assured me
they did not hang out with non-Christians. So, I asked them, “How do you share
the faith if everyone you know is a Christian?” How do we shine any light if all
we do is hang out with other lamps? Didn’t Jesus, the light of the world (John
1), spend his time in the darkness—with drunks, prostitutes, tax-collectors,
and sinners?
Jesus
calls us to be lamps in the darkness…so we better find our way into the
darkness around us—into the lives of those who are wandering without purpose,
those who are desperately looking for something solid and constant to hold on
to, those who are feeling so alone. Let us look for ways we can step into the
darkness of others lives…and there let us allow our light to shine…rather, let
us allow God’s Light to shine through us. Shine!
Sunday, October 26, 2025
“Parables: Preparing the Soil”
Watch/Listen: HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment