Be a Shining Light

 

As is often the case, as I read tomorrow’s Gospel (Lk 11:27-36) and Fr. Bartunek’s reflections in The Better Part, my soul was touched.

 

Jesus is trying to convince us to be like the sun, instead of desiring only to receive, which makes us like a black hole.

 

What a wise reflection!  Often our “Godly” thoughts are about our need to get more of Christ, to understand the light of His teachings, and then put them deep into our hearts.  That sounds like a good thing to do.  But if that is all we do, we are just like a black hole, sucking it all in.  As Bartunek notes, Jesus, who is the Eternal Light, wants us to be like the sun.  Jesus came to show us how to be like the Eternal Light, which is (as He explained) to love God and neighbor with all our heart.  That is acting as He created us to be, in His Image.

We shouldn’t just let His teachings change our hearts, but exude that change in our lives, so others can see the light.  Whether you seriously take or “have a right to” everything you want while in this world, we were not created to just be like black holes, sucking it all in.

I so often notice the bright shining sun these days, the peek in the morning, the radiance all day, and then it seems I always notice the last peek at night.  And on many cloudy rainy days, there always seems to be one small opening in the heavens, where I saw the sun shining. The sun reminds me of God, and His love for me.  But just watching His beauty isn’t good enough. 

We were made to be a shining light.