Matthew 5:15-16 "No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket..."

"No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:15-16).

Comment:

The earliest followers of Jesus were not members of the educated or upper classes in his society. They were fishermen, farmers, laborers and spiritual outcasts—people whose work, behavior or inability to tithe to the Temple kept them outside the circle of those considered religiously acceptable. They were variously resigned to being considered unimportant at best, unacceptable at worst.   Jesus' basic message to these people is found in verse 14 of this same chapter: "You are the light of the world." Certainly no one had ever told them such a thing before—even John the Baptist had seen them first and foremost as sinners who needed to repent. The great gift of Jesus' Christ awareness is that he saw people as they truly are—whole and perfect expressions of divine Light. And he was able to translate that insight into practical, pragmatic terms everyone could understand.   If he had tried to explain the universal spiritual truth behind his statement, they would not have understood, and they would not have believed in their own light. But they could easily understand the absurdity of lighting a lamp and then covering it over so it couldn't be seen. The light would be totally wasted—and none of the followers could afford to waste anything, especially something as precious as a source of light in their homes.   All these years later, I think the challenge with this passage is to grasp the truth that Jesus meant what he said. Each of us is the light of the world—we are each an expression of the divine Light we call God, the Source of all life and all love. Our limited human natures are like the bushel basket—coverings that allow us to hide the Light within so completely that we ourselves forget it's there. We're not here in human form to ignore the Light, or to hide it so that no one else can see it. We're here to be the Light—to let it shine everywhere, affirming the spiritual Presence and Power that is the energy of everything. It's only by letting our own light shine that we can encourage others to uncover their own inner Light and join us in the spiritual work of creating a new consciousness.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed