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 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 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 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 let us know that these verses are read on most feasts of the Virgin Mary.   It asks us to remark upon the fact that Jesus corrects the woman from the crowd, not by denouncing his mother, but rather by emphasizing her faith.  People are blessed in God's eyes if, like Mary, they hear the word of God and keep it.  The Greek word μενοῦνγε/menounge, translated as more than that, is also translated as "Yes indeed" in Romans 10:18.  My study bible asks us to note that this word corrects by amplifying, and 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 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 refers to the sign of Jonah.  My study bible say that this is, first of all, the fact that the rebellious Ninevites were willing to repent at Jonah's preaching, and second, that Jonah coming out of the great fish prefigures Christ rising from the tomb (Matthew 12:40).  By contrast to the Ninevites' repentance, the Jews' failure to repent at something which is far greater than the preaching of Jonah or the wisdom of Solomon -- Christ's preaching and Resurrection -- will result in their judgment.  The queen of the South is the Queen of Sheba; see 1 Kings 10:1-10.

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light."  My study bible comments with several perspectives on the light, as reflected in Scripture and various places in the Gospels.  First, God is the true and uncreated Light; in the Old Testament, light is symbolic of God (Isaiah 60:1-3), the divine Law (Psalm 119:105), and Israel contrasted with other nations.  In the New Testament, the Son of God is called "light" (John 1:4-9, 8:12; 1 John 1:5).  Light is also necessary for clear vision and life itself.  Faith relies on this divine light, and believers become "sons of light" (John 12:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:5) who shine in a perverse world (Philippians 2:15).  

"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."  In this context, Jesus emphasizes the lamp of the body, which He says is the eye.   But Jesus uses "eye" -- and therefore our sight -- as a metaphor for how we "see" on many levels, as the mind is the spiritual eye of the soul.  My study bible comments that this eye or lamp illuminates the inner person, and governs the will.  It says that keeping the mind wholesome and pure -- and so therefore as full of the light of Christ as possible -- is fundamental to Christian life.   Jesus emphasizes the quality of the light which illuminates the whole person, or not.

My study bible comments that faith relies on the light of God.  It is in this context that Jesus speaks of a lampstand, and the lamp that must give light to all.  Moreover, Jesus not only speaks of the illumination that may spread to others, but also of the quality and luminosity of the light that is within us, that illuminates the inner person and magnifies the soul.  In both cases, He speaks of the light of God which is shared with us as human beings.  In that light, and in our capacity to reflect it both out to the world and within the inner life of the soul, we find an entire way of being, the way of God and of Christ "the true Light" (John 1:9).  Jesus seems to emphasize in today's reading our own capacities for reflecting this light externally and internally.  As my study bible puts it, we may each become "sons of light" (regardless of gender).  His teachings really seem to emphasize the need for our own cooperation with this light so that it is alive and burning within us, and reflected through our souls and minds, and through all that we do in the world.  He emphasizes the blessedness of "those who hear the word of God and keep it!"  This is an active cooperation with the divine light of God that is present to work among us and within us, a willing reception and following through in living the life of light that is possible through faith.  It is interesting that Jesus speaks in this context of the final judgment, and in the context of those to whom He is present and their lack of willingness to receive Him and His word.  Jesus says, "The queen of the South will rise up 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."  He speaks of the time when all beings shall rise together for the judgment, when those of the present generation who refuse His light will be judged simply by contrast to those of the past who did receive God's light.  So much depends on this capacity to be illuminated by the light of God, to be a lampstand bearing that light into the world, to have it deeply, powerfully reflected in us so strongly that it illumines all of our heart and soul, leaving no room for darkness, no unlit corner where we're unaware of who we are and what we're doing and choosing in life.  If we think of it, prayer is like the spark with which the light is illumined, the lamp is lit, our inner flame becomes bright.  As we pray in communion with that Light, so we may more brightly illuminate it and our souls in the world.  And so, this is where we start, each and and each moment, when we need that light.  Let us consider how blessed we are to hear and life the word of God, to partake of that light, to dwell in it and it in us.  We are ones who are desirous of being the "sons of light" and through Christ's way of being and participating in that light, there is no limit to how deeply it dwells in us, nor how brightly it shines.  It is especially important at this time, when there is much uncertainty, fear, and seeming instability in the world, that we all take this message to heart -- that we be those who hear the word of God and keep it!    It is only through the light of God by which we will be able to see our way.