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

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; and the multitudes marveled.  But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the the demons."  Others, testing Him, sought from Him 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 verses are read on most feasts of the Virgin Mary.  Jesus is correcting the woman from the crowd, but not by denouncing His mother.  He rather emphasizes her faith.    People who, like Mary, hear the word of God and keep it, are blessed, in Christ's words.  My study bible also notes that the Greek word menounge/μενοῦνγε, which is here translated more than that, is rendered as "Yes indeed" in Romans 10:18.  It corrects by amplifying and expanding, not by negating.

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."   Jesus speaks about the sign of Jonah.  My study bible says that the "sign of Jonah" refers first of all to the fact that the rebellious people of Ninevah were willing to repent at Jonah's preaching; and secondly, that Jonah coming out of the great fish is a prefiguration of Christ rising from the tomb (Matthew 12:40).  By contrasting the repentance of the Ninevites to contemporary leadership of the people, Jesus says that there is a failure to repent at something which is far greater -- Christ's preaching and Resurrection -- which will result in their judgment.  Regarding the Queen of the South, see 1 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."  These statements are found in the Gospels in other contexts (such as in the Sermon on the Mount; see Matthew 5:13-16, 6:22-23).  This reinforces our understanding that Jesus used metaphors, figures of speech, and important reflections in many different contexts and throughout His preaching.  Indeed, in Luke's Gospel, the parable of the Revealed Light has been told by Jesus in chapter 8 (8:16-18), after He gave His disciples the parable of the Sower.  Here, as elsewhere, this reference to a lamp and light are given in the context of how one hears the word of Christ, and also responds -- whether or not the light of His words and teachings are taken in and lived and become a part of one's very character.

Jesus makes a serious case about how we listen, what we are willing to hear.  It's in the context of spiritual truth, and in reference to Himself and to His mission.  But when He speaks of light, and a lampstand, it is important that we note that He calls all of us to responsible hearing and listening to truth.  Repeatedly in the Gospels, this is the point that He will make.  In particular, this point is made today to the religious leaders, who are the ones prepared to hear what He has to say, and to understand the authority that He bears.  He likens Himself to the prophet Jonah, and compares His audience in His home country unfavorably to the foreigners who repented at Jonah's preaching, and to the Queen of the South who heard and was awed at the wisdom given to Solomon by God.  How we hear and how we understand spiritual truth is a kind of mystery.  It points to the fact that we don't really know the full depths of ourselves as beings created in the image of God.  How much is the work of grace?  How much is our choice?  But clearly, Christ points to a mechanism of choice that is at work within us.  A "hardened heart" is one that has steeled itself against the light of truth, that has walled itself off in order not to take in this light and to acknowledge what the light would expose.  It is one that avoids opening itself up to change and transformation (in other words, to repentance) and to living the life that would reflect that light.  Jesus gives us repeatedly the message that we are responsible for how we hear, and that rejection of light or truth offered counts for something.  After telling the parable of the Revealed Light, Jesus told His listeners, "Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him" (8:18).   In the case in today's reading, Jesus warns the leadership that their demand for a sign or proof results in judgment.  The Cross tells us that forgiveness is always on the table.  Jesus never stopped reaching out to those whom He wished to save.  But it's important to understand, in the context of both today's reading and yesterday's, that continuing to travel in the same bad direction, refusing repentance or change of mind, also expands the effects of refusal, taking us down a wrong path even to the point where we're incapable of questioning ourselves and our assumptions.   Our own darkness may be further darkened by seeing with a "bad eye" -- just as He preaches here our "whole body" may become "full of light" when the eye is good.  For these men, the danger is that even one greater than Jonah or Solomon will not be able to teach them anything, as their faith is only in themselves.  It should be noted here that there is an allusion to the "evil eye" in Jesus' statement, when He warns against a "bad eye."  The word in Greek (πονηρός) which is translated as bad is really the word for "evil."  An evil eye denotes envy, and this speaks to the motivations of those who demand a sign (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10).  To whatever extent we bear this responsibility for how we hear or take in that light, Jesus gives us quite solemnly the awareness that our choices have serious effects within us, and for our ultimate destination.  Each moment offers us a choice of direction, darkness or light -- and an option for more of one or the other to become very part of our being and what we bring into the world.  There is never a time when we don't make this choice about our lives, or a time when our choice doesn't count.