Word to the Wise
Thursday, January 31, 2008 - St. John Bosco, SDB
[2 Samuel 7:18-19, 24-29 and Mark 4:21-25]Is a lamp brought in to be place under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be places on a lampstand?
There is an old expression: "to see the light." "I finally saw the light!" We say this when after much effort we are able to understand something that we previously could not or did not want to understand. In the parable in today's gospel, Jesus is the light that is brought into the room. The inability of the disciples to accept or see that light is the equivalent of putting it under a bushel basket or under a bed. But Jesus is confident that the light will eventually be seen. Teachers speak of the "light" that seems to go on in a student's eyes when something finally makes sense and is made a part of that student's life. (I have a brother who teaches business law at a university, two close friends who teach at one of the schools run by St. John Bosco's order, the Salesians of Don Bosco, and a close friend who is principal of a Catholic grade school out in Arizona) As a preacher, I have witnessed that same thing. This is more than recognizing "what" the person is. It is a matter of recognizing "who" the person is. As long as Jesus is a "what," he will remain a distant and historical person. It is when we recognize him as a "who" - a real person - that he becomes a possible part of our life as any friend can. When that happens, we will have truly "seen the light." AMEN
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