If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light

 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."

- Luke 11:27-36

Yesterday, we read that Jesus was casting out a demon, and it was mute.  So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; sand the multitudes marveled.  But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."   Others, testing Him, sought a sign from heaven.  But He knowing their thoughts, said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.  If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they will be your judges.  But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.  But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.   When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first." 

And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"  My study bible notes that these words are read on most feasts of the Virgin Mary.  Jesus is correcting the women from the crowd, not by denouncing his mother, but rather by emphasizing her faith.  People are blessed in Gods' eyes, says my study bible, if, like Mary, they hear the word of God and keep it.  The Greek word which is translated, more than that, is translated "Yes indeed" in Romans 10:18.  This word is a correction by amplification, not by negation.   This passage reinforces what we read in chapter 8, when Jesus was told that His mother and brothers were waiting outside to see Him.  His response: "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it" (8:21).

And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here."  The sign of Jonah to the Ninevites was preaching to them for repentance.  The Ninevites are great examples of repentance as response to Jonah's preaching.  Further, Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days, prefiguring Christ rising from the tomb (Matthew 12:40).  In contrast to the Ninevites and their king, the leadership of the Jews fail to repent in response to something far greater than Jonah:  Christ's preaching and Resurrection.  The result is judgment.  The Queen of the South, a foreigner like the Ninevites, came to hear and praised God for the wisdom of Solomon, recognizing the presence of the God of Israel for such blessings.  She too will be a judgment against those already prepared for the Messiah by tradition and knowledge, who reject Christ's wisdom and the presence of the Kingdom (see 3 Kings 10:1-10).

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."  Here, as elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus uses the metaphor of light as an essential need for those who would not walk in darkness.  In John 8:12, Jesus teaches, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  Here He teaches all of us that we can be "sons of light" by bearing that light within us.  Not only does it give light (like a lamp) to those who are around, but also illumines the mind, which is the spiritual eye of the body, and guides 'how we see.'   But if this eye of the mind is bad and full of darkness, then so will be the fullness of the life we lead.  This is where we must take heed about what we put our faith into, which guides how we see.  If we choose to live by the light that shines through Him, we expect illumination over all that we are and think and how we see.

What is light, and what is the eye?  This is an important part of Christ's preaching.  It is found in the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, and clearly was preached elsewhere throughout Christ's ministry.  They are themes He returns to again and again.  The light that illumines the eye is the light that we need so that we won't walk in darkness, and we won't stumble.  We'll know where we are going.  There is a deep emphasis on the spiritual nature of our faith and its working within us.  This is a light that illumines the mind; if the whole body is lit by this light of the eye, then Christ is teaching us that it is a light that is meant to be thrown upon all of our lives, everything that we are, allowing us truly see.  In Luke chapter 6, as He does in the Sermon on the Mount, He teaches us to be aware of the "plank in our own eye" so that we may see clearly enough to remove the speck in another's eye (6:42).  It is this same light that illumines our imperfections and blindness so that we may truly see what we are about, in order to help others.  This is a journey that is meant to be lifelong.  To illuminate the entire body is the work of our lives, in His faith and in His light that allows us to see light (Psalm 36:9).  This is what it is to truly be His family, children by adoption, to seek to know and keep the word of God.  To reject the light, He says, is to risk judgment.   In John's Gospel, He tells Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).  None of what He teaches is ever about proofs.  No one is forced to believe.  He is looking for a connection of love, the capacity for spiritual perception, the desire for the life of light.  This is an ongoing journey, in which the light teaches, illumines, and changes us as we come to terms with the things which block that light.  Let us go forward in its grace with thanks.