Word to the Wise
Monday, October 26, 2020 - Monday in the 30th Week in Ordinary Time
[Eph 4:32-5:8 and Luke 13:10-17]Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ......For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. [Ephesians]
One of my favorite old hymns begins, "I want to walk as a child of the light..." and that first stanza ends: "Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.." The Letter to the Ephesians exhorts us to be compassionate and forgiving "as God has forgiven you in Christ." This seems to echo the words of the prayer Jesus taught us, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." Forgiveness and compassion are to be the true sign of a Christian.
Ephesians doesn't let up after that, however. We are urged to be "imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God...." The implications of that exhortation extend not just to "big" things like impurity and greed, but to basic conversation!
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus challenges us to be "the light of the world." We recognize, however, that the very light that shines on or within us also reveals a shadow side. Christian life requires a constant effort to examine that shadow, the darker side, and adjust the way we stand and walk so that we can be children of light. "Shine in our hearts, Lord Jesus!" AMEN