What does your light reveal?
We are charged with
revealing God’s love to the world… but how?
From the time of Isaiah, God gave his people a good sense of what they
needed to do so that their light
could break forth like the dawn: simply
put, they were to feed the hungry and help the oppressed. God loves all of
creation, and we are called to do likewise, creating connection with people in
need, thereby proclaiming our oneness with God through our just actions on
God’s behalf. Hence Psalm 112 can proclaim that The just man is a light in darkness to the upright; such a man can trust in the Lord as he invests lavishly in those around him. In so doing, he reveals God’s love, God’s
glory, to all the world.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus
similarly exhorts his disciples to let their light shine before others, revealing the miracle of God’s love each
time they do a kind deed, each time they are generous, each time they serve those
around them. In such a way, real justice
is served, justice by the grace of God, and so God’s glory is revealed. Salt enhances all it touches; similarly, we
must bring God’s compassion to our daily life and actions. Paul explains to the Corinthians the origin
of such compassion: Paul himself knows nothing except Jesus Christ, and him
crucified. In other words, Paul is
an open vessel; the only thing that can be revealed through him is the power of
God at work in him, that love and compassion of God that allows him to nourish
the faith of those he meets.
We don’t always get it
right; we often fail at compassion and love.
But even then, God remains at work in us, working to heal us as we try
once again to heal the brokenness of our world.
Only through acts of love can we reveal the mystery of God; only through acts of kindness and compassion
can our light shine before others, breaking forth like the dawn.
This
post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image
source: Wordle
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