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Gospel: Mark 4: 21-25
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lampstand?
For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light.
Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.”
He also told them, “Take care what you hear.
The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you,
and still more will be given to you.
To the one who has, more will be given;
from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Imagine life without light.
If you opened your fridge, you’d struggle to find the milk. If you came to Mass, the church would be dark. If you drove at night, the roads would be hauntingly black.
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Light is essential to how we live our lives. But different size light bulbs are needed for different purposes.
In your fridge, a 40-watt bulb is perfect. In a church, you need brighter bulbs. At night, you need even larger bulbs to brighten our streets.
While each bulb has a different intensity, they all serve the same purpose: to cast out the darkness in their respective place.
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In a similar way, God has given each of us a purpose in life – a unique way to shine brightly, to share our faith, our heart, our time, our resources, serving as the face and voice of Christ.
Priests shine by making Jesus present in the Eucharist, when pouring holy water over a child’s head in baptism, by absolving a heavy burdened soul in the confessional, visiting the sick in the hospital, or celebrating the bond of marriage.
Some of you bring the Eucharist to the homebound; you prepare food for the hungry in our soup kitchen; you serve as a catechist; you are the voice of reconciliation in your family; a prophetic voice in society; or you love and serve your neighbor in the world.
So, how do we collectively light up the world around us?
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“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed,” Jesus says. “Rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.”
Be that light – shine “brightly” – in your spot. Together, we can brighten the world.
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Image credits: (1) Presence and Practice (2) ResearchGate (3) Salt&Light