Fr. Aidan Writes:
We could look at the readings for this Sunday as a blueprint for giving a shining witness in this world. Jesus says that we must put our light on a lamp stand so that all may see and also see our good deeds. Isaiah tells us that if we share our food, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, and not to turn our backs, “your light will break forth and your vindication go before you.” The response to the psalm is, “The just man is a light in darkness to the upright”, and Paul tells the Corinthians that what he is proclaiming are not just clever words but a demonstration of the Spirit’s power.
Witness needs illumination. If we are to be a shining light for the world (and we are supposed to be so!) then we have to be in a position to reflect that light, the source of which is Christ’s wisdom and love that heals us. So we must work on ourselves to be able to shine out, proclaim and act. But lest we get a little presumptuous, when we read the last phrase of today’s gospel, “…that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father”, we must understand that what people see is not of our initiation, but as Paul would put it, “a demonstration of Spirit and power”, which comes from the Father that we glorify. We need to shine so that he is seen and glorified, but also we understand that doing the corporal as well as spiritual works of mercy will, as Isaiah tells us, “heal our wounds”. So essentially, doing good does us a power of good too … providing our intentions are always for God’s greater glory!
God bless you and your families.
Fr A-P
May God bless you, your families, and the week ahead,
Fr Aidan Peter