Expose to the Light

Today’s Gospel Text: And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. 23 If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." 24 And he said to them, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. 25 For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Mark 4:21-25

Reflection: One of the freedoms we demand is the freedom of privacy and as per the laws of human right it is guaranteed in the constitutions of many nations, who have signed the United Nations charter on human rights.

The right to privacy usually guarantees to a certain defined extent when, where and how much of personal information could be disclosed by an individual.

It is a happy law for the many of us in the world who could go through a nightmare if the hidden things of our lives were to be made public.

Embarrassment, hurt, pain, betrayal, distress are some of the deepest feeling that we struggle with when exposed either rightly or wrongly, by the cautious or the overcautious.   

Despite all these freedoms of privacy laws, the Lord is cautioning us about the ultimate day, if not now when we will have to face the exposure of disclosure before the king and judge and then it will be public knowledge, whether we like it or not.

The exposure is sure and is inevitable; everything hidden in darkness has to be manifest by the light of Christ and what is secret will be manifest. (vs.22) 

But for us Christian we could avoid the great embarrassment by bringing things to the light of Christ through the Sacrament of reconciliation, which makes things practical and easy.

The light of Christ thus shining on the darkened area dispels everything that is not of his kingdom and clears our consciences to face him on that day without fear or anxiety.

Believe in what Christ claims about himself; as the light of the world, a light that dispels all darkness. Turn to his merciful love and forgiveness offered to us once and for all on the Cross.

Prayer: Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting! Ps 139:23-24

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

The Inner Thoughts

Today’s Gospel Text: They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it; 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise." 32 But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him. 33 And they came to Caper'na-um; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" 34 But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." 36 And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me." Mark 9:30-37

Reflection: If only our thoughts were set open to the public gaze, we would either live in embarrassing shame or go to the other extreme of rebellious justification.  

In the gospel text we have the disciples discussing who was the greatest, when Jesus is giving them a serious talk about his impending death at the hands of men.Such is our sinful nature:

We could be at a funeral and our thoughts could be on apportioning of the property and wealth of the deceased or on self gratification.

We could be next to a sick person and yet more concerned when to feed ourselves rather than wait in that emergency situation.

We could be at a beach or a picnic and yet could be else where in voyeuristic zones. 

We could be on chat at a distance or on a phone and yet in the bedroom. 

Is it the music that is attractive or the singer or is it the story line of the movie that draws us to it or the actors that attract subliminally?.   

Alas the sinful human nature, that is so caught up in itself. Sometimes when these thoughts do get manifest either because of our lack of self control or on account of our sense of morality or because our body language betrays us then we do get into all sorts of justifications.

 

I may shock you further with this statement; Woe to those humans who lead the sincere followers  of Christ to such rebelliousness through condemnation, finger pointing and judgment. Would it not be better on their part, like a good Christian, to instead seek to help them out of their situation.

Jesus, though he knew what they were discussing, did hold on to an attitude of judgment and condemnation but rather, in all patience continued to teach them what is right and good, so as to empower them as future servants of the kingdom. 

He knew that they will soon give up on such self-centered ways and instead be instruments of his grace and mercy to others.

Prayer: Lord, help me not to look at the personal flaws and failings of others but to rather be an instrument of help and strength to them.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us