Gospel: Luke 8:16-18
No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a bowl or puts it under the bed; rather, he puts it on a lamp stand, so that people coming in may see the light. In the same way, there is nothing hidden that shall not be uncovered; nothing kept secret, that shall not be known clearly. Now, pay attention and listen well, for whoever produces, will be given more; but from those who do not produce, even what they seem to have will be taken away from them.”

Reflections
“People coming in may see the light.”
God’s good news of love that has been welcomed in the human heart through conversion and faith needs to be nurtured by perseverance in prayer and good works so that it continues to grow and bear fruit for one’s self and others. When a lamp, or a candle, is covered, it will cease to give out light and no sooner will it be extinguished because it lacks air, particularly oxygen, needed to keep it burning.
Once the good news takes its root, it would require “patient endurance” so that we can proceed with the demands of daily human affairs strong, withstanding and warding off the threats coming from various concerns, possessions and pleasures in life (Brendan Byrne). Prayer, good works, endurance and patience are the elements of the air, so to speak, that keep the light of love in us shining. Without them, our conversion to a new life of faith in Christ will not last. In seeing this light, what others actually recognize is God’s love and mercy at work in our lives. The light of our transformation and its accompanying fruits of good work touch people’s lives because they reflect divine goodness. Having this light, then, shining in our life is to be a witness to the power and love of God.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2019