Full of Light

For Tuesday, October 30th

While he was saying 

this, a woman in the 
crowd raised her 
voice and said to
 him, ‘Blessed is the
womb  that bore 
you and the breasts 
that nursed you!’ 
But he said, ‘Blessed 
rather are those 
who hear the word
 of God and obey it!’

 When the crowds 
were increasing,
 he began to say, 
‘This generation is 
an evil generation; 
it asks for a sign, 
but no sign will be 
given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will 
rise at the judgement with the people of this generation and condemn them, because 
she came from the ends of the  earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, 
something greater than Solomon is here! The people of Nineveh  will rise up at the 
judgement with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the 
proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! 

 ‘No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar, but on the lampstand so that those

 who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy,

 your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body 

is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp 

gives you light with its rays.’ Luke 11:27-36

There are  times in life when we can rest and relax and other times when we must be 
active and choose carefully. These are those latter times, when we need to be bold 
and act for love against the violence and destruction that seems to have infected
the culture and the country where we live. No one should ever be afraid when they
worship, no one should be afraid to go to school and no one should be afraid of just
being who they are. Across our land, people are afraid. We are the light in these 
dark days.

Jesus encounters all sorts of adulation as he goes about healing and sharing God's
love. Folks want to make him a hero  (and many vilify him), yet he calls them
to draw near to God and act as light in this world. Being light is not a selfish act,
but rather an act of submission to the love of God, which pushes us to love our
neighbor (all of them) and to live a sacrificial life. We are sternly called by God
today to be the change and the light so needed in these dark days.

Today, I ask God to help me be light to all those around me today. May we
shine with love and healing for a world that needs to know we are willing to
serve and walk in solidarity with all of our neighbors.