Gospel Luke 8: 16-18
Jesus said to the crowd:
"No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
rather, he places it on a lampstand
so that those who enter may see the light.
For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible,
and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.
Take care, then, how you hear.
To anyone who has, more will be given,
and from the one who has not,
even what he seems to have will be taken away." (Luke 8:16-18 NAB)
This relatively brief Gospel, known as the “Parable of the Lampstand,” is strategically placed between the “Parable of the Sower,” and the following passage about Jesus and His brethren. This Gospel is about being the “light” with the intention of having others see, so for them to become truly enlightened themselves.
During His ministry, Jesus often used parables to convey His message, and this parable’s meaning is to actually explain or fulfill the purpose of the teaching in the previous parable. Further, we begin to see between this parable and the previous, that, as effective the parables were, there is still a risk of those not understanding in the way Christ would want them to. There is always an economy on how Christ grows his message, for instance, in the previous parable Jesus speaks of those who, having heard the Word, '“believe for a while” …and “those whose fruit does not ripen.” (Lk 8:13, 14) After all, the Word of God IS the seed spoken of in the Parable of the Sower. Thus, Christ grows His message subsequently in this Gospel—as seeds need light to grow!
And so, we see Christ skillfully using sensory appeal to convey the meaning in this Gospel. He mentions first, ideas akin to the sense of “sight” in the idea that the faithful “…may see the light,” or in the importance of there being a “…lighted lamp.” (Lk 8:16) And yet, interestingly, this would really come as a result of His urging those to, “Take care then, how you hear,” with the concluding warning, that, “To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away." (Lk 8:18)
Christ is the Light of the World, made wholly visible through His church. Now, we know this, but Christ is setting the stage for what would ultimately take place in the book of Acts. The “mystery of the kingdom of God” referenced in the Parable of the Sower, was given to His close disciples, foreshadowing what would be required later of the Apostles to go “Act,” via the anointing of the Holy Ghost, and be the light by preaching the Word of God to the world.
Some takeaways for consideration from today’s Gospel might be: 1. That a lighted lamp signifies the light of the truth of Christ, which contain the “mysteries of the kingdom of God,” 2. That light gives true life and is meant to be seen by others, 3. That those who see properly have also heard and understood properly, and 4. A warning against misunderstanding despite the cause. And in conclusion, the subsequent passage where Jesus’ mother and brethren are waiting to see Him reinforces what Jesus was saying in today’s Gospel. He says, “My mother and my brethren are they who hear the word of God and act upon it,” further driving the point that despite all earthly attachments, the most important thing is both hearing and acting on the Word of God, as His mother and future Apostles were certainly quite equipped to do.
As usual beautifully explained.