The Scripture readings for Mass this past Sunday underscore the idea of goodness as light. Isaiah 58 says, “Share your bread with the hungry, and shelter the oppressed and the homeless, clothe the naked when you see them and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn…” The Responsorial Psalm (112) response was “The just man is a light in darkness to the upright.” And in the gospel (Matthew 5) Jesus said, “You are the light of the world…Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”
In the sacrament of Baptism, the one who is baptized is given a small candle lit from the Paschal Candle and they are told, “receive the light of Christ.” If we have received the light of Christ, it is for the purpose of bearing the light of Christ into the world in such a way that it glorifies our Heavenly Father. The goal of our baptism is to become so much like Jesus that people see his traits in us and give praise to our Heavenly Father. When Jesus says, let your light shine before others, it is the light of our faith, our goodness, our love for others and our selfless service to those around us that glorifies our Heavenly Father.
Jesus says directly, “you are the light of the world.” We might consider that more closely. First of all, we are so accustomed to flipping on a switch that we hardly think about what light does. In a simple way, in a room without light, we say that we cannot see. But what is it that we cannot see? Without light we cannot see the relationship between one object and another – that is, the arrangement of items in the room and how close we are to knocking something over. It becomes difficult to find our way because light enables our faculty of vision to function properly.
When Jesus says, “you are the light of the world,” he means that we ourselves enable others to see clearly the right order and relationship of things in the world, and as we reveal God’s truth, beauty and goodness, people encounter the divine presence in us and offer praise and glory to God our Heavenly Father. Thus, the word of God reveals the purpose of our lives on this earth – to bring glory to our Heavenly Father. I believe that what we most enjoy about our friends is their goodness, that is, the light they “give off” by their faith and goodness. How easy it is to glorify God in thanksgiving for the goodness we see in those whom we love.
Letting our light shine is an intentional act, the goal of which is to glorify God…and not ourselves. (If you get the Magnificat publication, there is a helpful “Meditation of the Day” from St. Augustine about this, beginning on page 122.) St. Augustine says that when it comes to letting our light shine, we have to examine the intention of the human heart. He wrote, “If anybody wants his good works to be seen by other people because he is parading his glory and his indispensability before their eyes, and seeking recognition of them from other people, then…his light has not so shone before men, that they should see his good works for the purpose of glorifying the Father in heaven. It is himself that he wanted glorified, not God;”
The other challenge with which many people struggle is to believe in their own goodness, that they have any light at all with which they might glorify God. St. Paul says in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” People often let their sins define them, forgetting that it is our baptism that defines us – as beloved sons and daughters of God. They can’t imagine that God is at all pleased with them and so even the obvious goodness of their lives that others see they discredit as having no value. No, the light of Christ in us is real. The Lord delights in every moment that our hearts seek to please him by serving others. The key is to stop focusing on ourselves and simply let our goodness shine!
Light bearing is the mark of a Christian – to reveal the love of God to others by imitating his example. We would do well to frequently review the words of our Lord, things like, “Love one another as I have loved you.” The more we allow ourselves to be affected by God’s love the more he can set our hearts on fire to bear his love to others. True light bearing is always about the Lord and arises from a passion in our hearts to bring ever greater honor and glory to God. We see this in the words of St. John the Baptist who said, “He must increase and I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
So today we might ask the Lord for the fire of his love to burn within our hearts, that our only motivation might be always for his praise and glory. Then, even if that might come to him through our sacrifices and sufferings, we will be able to embrace it all, so that he might be glorified. We see this in the glorious witness of the martyrs in the Church, those ancient and the new martyrs of every age. How brilliantly their light continues to shine through every age in the Church. With every virtue we cultivate, may it be for the praise and glory of God. Together, let us shine on!
