But the prophet Isaiah tells us "Shine, for your light has come." Jesus, light of the world, has come into the world and into each of our lives. Jesus is our light who has come and is always coming, is always at work, is always making things happen for good. Jesus, minute by minute, tells us that it's time - high time - for each of us to come out of our self-imposed, self-absorbed darkness and SHINE!!!
If you or I ever lose faith in our ability to be forces for good, Jesus never does. While he debates with the Jewish leaders, he says "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) But he also uses that term (light of the world) to refer to anyone who, down through the ages, becomes his disciple: "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." (Matthew 5:14.)
Now, how is it that Jesus, Divine Son of God and Human Son of Mary, can simultaneously affirm that both he and you and I are the light of the world? Because he promises us that if we follow him, we will never walk in darkness. If we follow him in obedience to our Father, we can never be overcome by the dark, internal forces that would cause us to lose faith in ourselves and faith in him.
If we are Jesus' faithful disciples, he leads us fragile human beings to discover the deathless, infinite Divine in ourselves. We are created in the Image of God, and at the center of our souls lives a Divine Spark, forever united with our soul. This spark of the Divine, - the uncreated part of our souls - when it is fanned by the Breath of the Holy Spirit, erupts into the blazing fire that makes us the light of the world. Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M, tells us four truths about our Divine Spark. (The following Rohr quotes are from The Center for Contemplation Meditation for August 15.)
First, he says, "We are made, the scriptures of all religions assure us, in the image of God. Nothing can change that original goodness. Whatever mistakes we have made in the past, whatever problems we may have in the present, in every one of us this 'uncreated spark in the soul' remains untouched, ever pure, ever perfect. Even if we try with all our might to douse or hide it, it is always ready to set our personality ablaze with light."
Referring to this Divine Spark in us, Jesus says "A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." Here, Jesus is telling us that we can discover and recognize this Divine Spark in ourselves; we can actually actively tend it through our prayers and actions and allow it to shine through, with, and in us in numerous places in our lives.
Rohr continues,
"Second, this divine essence can be realized. It is not an abstraction, and it need not— must not—remain hidden under the covering of our everyday personality. It can and should be discovered, so that its presence becomes a reality in daily life."
It can be a temptation, Rohr is saying, to retreat into being the person, the personality, that others - and ourselves - have always known, the personality that hasn't grown to its full potential. Hiding our Divine Spark under the covering of our carefully cultivated personality that "fits in" with society is like Jesus' image of placing our lighted lamp under a bowl, keeping our individual talents and spiritual gifts hidden. As disciples of Jesus, we are SUPPOSED to stand out from the crowd, as uncomfortable as that may get. We are a people who follow God's Truth, who have a greater commitment to love, mercy and justice. The Divine Spark is always calling us on and forward, not to become MORE than we are, but to become precisely WHO we are! Our personalities need to be illuminated and refined and "grown" through the spiritual Gifts given us by the unique Divine Spark within us.
Notice, Jesus first encourages us to put our light on a stand so that our Divine Spark gives light to everyone in the house. What a homey example! God placed our Divine Spark - God's Divine Image in us - in our souls so that first we would illuminate the houses of our families! First, our families of birth, and then whatever families we belong to next - marriage and family, or religious order, or the brotherhood of priesthood or diaconate. They are the first ones whom we illuminate by teaching them Who God is by our words and our example, by the faithful light of our welcoming smiles, the warmth of our daily work done out of love for them.
But, it is so easy to forget about or get distracted away from, our Divine Spark and our call to become a light of the world. It is so easy to become discouraged by our faults, our failings, our busyness, the lure of pleasure, the lack of discipline, that so easily get in the way of our spiritual lives. Fr. Rohr observes that this is where actively choosing our Life with God as our First Priority is the core of discipleship. He says,
"Third, this discovery is life’s real and highest goal. Our supreme purpose in life is not to make a fortune, nor to pursue pleasure, nor to write our name on history, but to discover this spark of the divine that is in our hearts."
When I look at my life as wife, mother, Church worker, a simple, quiet, mostly hidden life, I am inspired by the woman who also lived a quiet life, but lived it in the fullness of discipleship. Mary, who was the closest human being to her son, Jesus, understood that Jesus came into this world to do the Will of his Father - and so did she, and so do we. Jesus obeyed his Father's will by moving step by step through every day, paying attention to each situation, each person, appearing before him. In his prayer life, his travels, the people and situations he encountered, his inner vision could see the Reality of God present there, the Reality of God's Kingdom, playing out in his daily life. In love with his Father, in love with this world, he poured the Father's healing, teaching, challenging Divine Fire of Love into every situation, every person he met. And so, light of the world, he set the world on fire with Divine Love, the Fiery Love of God's own Word Who consumes our sins and gives us the bright promise of eternal life.
Jesus saw his daily life unfolding as his unique mission from his Father. Because he approached this mission with courage and understanding and love, he lived his life with imagination, freedom, and creativity. The Divine Spark in him led him to see and care for the people on the margins whom no-one else ever saw - the lepers, the sinners, the unclean, the foreigners, the women and children who others saw as simple possessions, the sections of the Law that were manmade rather than ordained by God and placed heavy burdens on the people. His vision illuminated their lives, and he preached so that others would see the neglected and unwanted as well.
Mary - simple wife and mother, leading a semi-hidden, simple life - tended the Divine Spark in her heart/soul, and saw this Spark illumine her unique life mission for her. Her words to the angel Gabriel who asks her to be mother of the Messiah illuminate her whole life for us:
"I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say." In other words, "I choose and I am prepared to see God's Will in everything that happens to me - and I surrender to the Wisdom of the Plans of God's Heart that live from age to age."
Bishop Robert Barron meditates on a young, pregnant Mary finding out that her aged cousin is also pregnant and rushing to her side to care for her.
"I’ve always been fascinated by Mary’s 'haste' in this story of the Visitation. Upon hearing the message of Gabriel concerning her own pregnancy and that of her cousin, Mary 'proceeded in haste into the hill country of Judah' to see Elizabeth.
"Why did she go with such speed and purpose? Because she had found her mission, her role in the theo-drama. We are dominated today by the ego-drama in all of its ramifications and implications. The ego-drama is the play that I’m writing, I’m producing, I’m directing, and I’m starring in. We see this absolutely everywhere in our culture. Freedom of choice reigns supreme: I become the person that I choose to be.
"The theo-drama is the great story being told by God, the great play being directed by God. What makes life thrilling is to discover your role in it. This is precisely what has happened to Mary. She has found her role—indeed a climactic role—in the theo-drama, and she wants to conspire with Elizabeth, who has also discovered her role in the same drama. Like Mary, we have to find our place in God’s story."
Our Divine Spark illuminates our mission, our role in God's story, day by day for us. In the daily surprises, joys, tensions, griefs, and sacrifices of marriage, family, religious life, diaconate, priesthood, we learn how to gradually discover our missions, our roles in God's great drama, the plans of His heart for us. Like Mary, we are called to say "yes" to God, even when we feel like blind men/women on an unknown journey. Like Mary, we are called to visit others, when it's convenient, and when it's inconvenient. Like Mary, we come to the sides of those who are suffering illness and death, sometimes violent death, and we weep in anguish even as we accept that a compassionate God is present there among us, with us and with the dying and deceased. Like Mary, we are called to be part of a Church growing in unexpected ways, a Church filled with tension, misunderstandings, great virtue, and great sinfulness. She remembered - and we remember - that her Son, Our Lord, promised to be with us until the end of time.
Fr. Richard Rohr tells us the fourth and final truth about the Divine Spark within us:
"Last, when we realize this goal, we discover simultaneously that the divinity within ourselves is one and the same in all—all individuals, all creatures, all of life. . . ."
When we spiritually kneel before the Spark of the Divine within us, and allow our entire being to be set on fire by our God of infinite Mercy, Justice, and Compassion, our hearts/souls expand to contain the entire universe. We recognize that God is present and is the Life Force everywhere and in everyone and in everything.
We discover the gift of tears - tears of compassion and empathy for strangers, for those with disabilities, those of other skin colors, other cultures, other sexual orientations, other faiths and even those with no faith. We recognize God the Son as present, still being crucified, in those whom the world despises and rejects.
We spiritually acknowledge the depth of human beings' responsibility to care for and protect all of creation, and we weep, begging God to forgive our human race's willful destructiveness as we pollute and destroy our soil, air, and waterways, and fail to protect other species from extinction, all out of power and greed.
We intercede for all nations, weeping and begging for God to teach our world leaders that there is no real peace without cooperative relationships and justice for the poor and oppressed.
Our tears of compassion, our rage for justice, propels us from tears to merciful action, often outside the family circle, even beyond the circle of our acquaintances, even out into the unknown world of those who are not part of our comfortable "tribe." For Jesus also calls us to be cities on hills, where we will be seen, and lampstands that illuminate beyond our families. Wherever we shine with free, unstinting love, people will see us, recognize that our light is God-Light, and give glory to God.
"In Matthew 5:15 Jesus calls out: Put the light on the lampstand where it gives light to all in the house. Find those lampstands—people, places, positions, prayers—that support your fire. Then thrust your light atop their sturdy foundation. Fan your flames as big as they’ll go. 'Let your light shine before others,' Jesus implores, 'so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven' (Matt. 5:16). This is fire’s call. This is our call.
"To become fire is to shine wildly.
"Rage and roar with divine energy. Radiate the warmth our world so desperately needs. Imagine yourself becoming fire—really imagine it. Where do you shine brightest? What values do you illuminate? Whom do you hope your sparks kindle?
"The embers are already aglow within you.
"Why not become fire?" (from "Jesus tells us to become fire. Here's how to claim your flame," by Jessie Bazan, in "U.S. Catholic.")
We will never know, in this life, how many hungry, despairing souls lift their hearts to the Divine Spark of our smiles, or the fiery mercy of our ministering hands, and allow their own souls to be lit with their own Divine Sparks. We will never know, in this life, how many cold, indifferent souls are illuminated and uplifted by the fire of our truth-speaking and protests for Divine Justice, and allow our passion to re-light their own desire to discover their own Divine Spark. All we can do is trust and believe that many will be set on fire by our lives. Because Jesus told us this would happen. Jesus told us "You are the light of the world." Jesus NEEDS us to be the light of the world for his Kingdom to come to fullness in this world.
Mary, who lived the fullness of discipleship, is a pure, blazing light of the world; her whole being emanates radiant light. Is it any wonder then that her appearance is the totality of light - sun, moon, and stars? Catholic tradition identifies her with the “woman clothed with the sun” who is described in the 12th chapter of the Book of Revelation. The passage calls that woman's appearance “a great sign” which “appeared in heaven,” indicating that she is the mother of the Jewish Messiah and has “the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Accordingly, Catholic iconography of the Western tradition often depicts the Virgin Mary's assumption, body and soul, into heaven in this manner. She is the first disciple, and so the first to experience the fullness of the resurrection.
We are made in the Image of God, and God's own Divine Spark lives within our souls, the Divine in unity with our human nature. Our life's greatest priority is to discover the Divine Spark within us and allow it to kindle us into fire so we can become, as Jesus calls us, lights for the world. Our greatest temptation is to be distracted by pleasure, or money, or possessions, or other pursuits. But Jesus calls us to our real mission - to obediently do the will of his Father every day of our lives, putting one foot in front of the other. Then our ordinary lives become extraordinary, because every person, every event we encounter, is soaked in the sunlight of God's Love, shining through us as the sun shines through clear windows.
When we allow our Divine Spark to grow into a fire that rages through our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies, that is when we become total living sacrifices and gifts to the Father. We become on fire with Jesus' own hunger for souls, his passion for the whole world to experience the joy of our Father's love. Because Mary became Perfect Fire, she was taken by God, heart, soul, mind, and body, to Heaven - "assumed into heaven." If we live out our discipleship to the fullest, we too will one day rejoice like dancing flames, spirit, soul, and body, in the Presence of our God Who is the Perfect, Consuming Fire of Love.
Do you hear the Voice of Jesus? He's saying, "Come on, it's time for you to come out of the dark where you're hiding. Come on, it's high time for you to SHINE."