Shine
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Everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light.
-Ephesians 5:13
This Sunday, our gospel is the story of the man born blind, John 9. This is my very favorite story in the whole bible, and because I love it so much, I never know where to begin when it comes around in the lectionary.
The theme of seeing and vision and light come up in all the readings this Sunday, and this verse from Ephesians popped out at me today. It seems surprisingly modern to me - as if talking about the physics of light. We only see objects when light bounces off them and into our eyes. In this way, everything visible is light.
But Paul is not talking just about objects here. He’s saying that we become light when God’s light shines upon us. And that light doesn’t just bounce off us to to others, but comes through us and is shared by us with others. And when we become who God is calling us to be, God shines in us and through us - in a far deeper way than the way light just bounces off the surface of things.
It reminds Jesus saying in Luke:
No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.
A new lamp is lit every time someone is born, and sometimes that light gets covered up, snuffed out or disregarded in this world. Sometimes people are led to feel they are not lovable enough to shine. But the more we discover God’s original call to us, either as individuals or as communities, the more light will be shared and the clearer God’s presence among us will be.
So let your light shine!
