But what does that
light look like?
Our Christian
faith is grounded in paradoxes. The most
central paradox is one that Paul describes in his Letter to the Romans, as he proclaims the mystery of God: Jesus
Christ, and him crucified, Paul says, is the source of our salvation,
that is to say, Jesus died, that we might live forever. Christ loves this world, and all that is in
it, no matter what: this is Paul’s message and proclamation. Paul wants the Corinthians to know that love,
to enter into that love, because to accept this truth, to stand on the pinnacle
between suffering and death, on the one hand, and salvation, on the other,
frees us – it frees us to be kind and generous and merciful, to do everything
that Christ was about. And this is
something the Corinthians have been notoriously unwilling to do.
When in Matthew’s
Gospel, Jesus talks about being salt of
the earth or about not hiding our light
under a bushel basket, he’s telling us that he has called us to him not to
sequester ourselves away, but to be light in the darkness, to bring out all the
best in the world around us, to be a revelation of his love, to be seen.
The light we are meant to be, and to be in, is a mystery – the love of
God is meant to shine forth from us, revealing the glory of God. When he states that, Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds,
Jesus is hearkening back to Psalm 112, The
just man is a light in darkness, and to Isaiah, who reminds the people of
Israel to share their bread with the
hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless, clothe the naked… and
more!
When we reach out
to those in need, we leave behind us, in our wake, the glory of the Lord,
revealed by mercy – because his mercy
flows through us when we show love to others.
The extraordinary nature of mercy is that it is gifted to us, to all of
us, that it might be regifted to others. And thus, our light shall break forth like the dawn, showering mercy on all as
God has shown the ultimate mercy, in the paradoxical mystery of his Son’s
suffering and death, to us all.
This post is based
on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
