Parable of the Lamp

Today's Reflections   
 

                       

Parable of the Lamp 

http://graceandspace.org

Mk 4:21-25

²¹[Jesus] said to [the crowd], “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? ²²For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. ²³Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” ²⁴He 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. ²⁵To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

To the one who has, more will be given. The Gospel tells us what we are to do with the graces we have received. We are to acknowledge God’s action in us and be grateful for God’s blessings and graces. Then, we have to share God’s graciousness with others; we cannot just keep the blessing to ourselves.

This is what a lamp does: it gives light and shares energy. And this is the Christian paradox that every believer experiences: when one shares one’s blessings, blessings abound all the more; when one shares one’s talent, the more this talent is developed and perfected.

In the First Reading, when King David hears of God’s plan for him—that David’s house will become great and be a source of blessing for his generation—he is humbled, and he cannot but magnify and bless the Lord. One can imagine David not just rejoicing in his prayer but sharing this good news with his household.

“That’s how it is with God’s love;

Once you’ve experienced it, you want to sing,

‘It’s fresh like spring’; you want to pass it on.”

(Pass It On, words and music by Kurt Kaiser)