PRAYER: Dear Lord, I must confess that I focus my eyes on all sorts of things besides you and your truth. QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Does your life shine with the light of God? How? When? Are there places where this light shines freely? Are there places where this light does not shine through you? How might you shine with God’s light in your family? In your workplace? Among your friends? In the classroom? On the soccer field? In your volunteer work? In your church?
Our words and deeds will radiate with the truth and love of God. The more we allow the truth of God to fill us, the more we will shine with divine light. We will become radiant when we focus on Jesus, his message and ministry, and on God who is the reigning king.
Rather, our lives become radiant from the outside, from the light of God, and, in particular, from the light proclaimed and lived by Jesus, the brilliant flame of the kingdom of God. In verse 36, Jesus offers hope: “If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as thought a floodlight were filling you with light.” It is possible for us to be so filled with light that our lives are radiant. Thus, their “light” was actually “darkness.” By mistaking the nature of the light, they allowed their souls to be filled with untruth. Many people in Jesus’ day believed they had the light of God within them, but, in fact, they rejected the true light of the kingdom of God as proclaimed by Jesus. Verse 35 begins to move the conversation into metaphor: “Make sure the light you think you have is not actually darkness.” Here the light is not literal light, but the light of truth. So far, Jesus is simply talking about the function of the eye in a way that was common in his day. A “good” (the Greek means “single” or perhaps “focused”) eye allows the body to be filled with the light from the outside. People in the time of Jesus thought of the eye as a kind of lamb that sends light out into the world and then retrieves the light which is brought into the body, thus enabling humans to see. But when it is bad, your body is filled with darkness” (11:34). When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. So how does the light of the kingdom of God impact us? Jesus explains this in the next three verses. His announcement has shone forth like a lamp placed on a stand. In word and in deed, Jesus has announced the presence and future coming of God’s reign. Here, however, the lamp represents the message of Jesus, the proclamation of the kingdom of God. In Matthew 5:14-15, Jesus uses this imagery to talk about how his disciples are to live in the world. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house” (11:33). “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Perhaps I can help us understand what Jesus is suggesting here. In Luke 11:33-36, Jesus uses the metaphor of light and lamps in a way that can seem confusing. “If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.”
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