Jesus tells us, “Your eye is the lamp of your body.”[1]
When our eyes are good, Jesus says, our whole bodies are filled with light. I’ve
always pondered what that meant. Theologians throughout history have reflected
on this passage, suggesting that what Jesus was really getting at was
simplicity of mind.[2] When
we are singularly focused on the good (or in this case the ultimate Good),
God’s light can then pervade every part of our lives.
We can see this in Jesus’ statements about the kingdom:
“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you”(Mt 6:33, Lk 12:31). When our sole purpose is aligning ourselves
to this kingdom, beckoning its coming, participating in its fulfillment through
Christ Jesus, the rest is details. This insight allowed Teresa of Avila to exhort,
“Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die;
that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone;
and that there is only one glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will
be many things about which you care nothing.”[3]
There are majors, in other words, and there are minors. “Major
in the majors,” Jim Rayburn would say. “Don’t ever let ‘em quit talking about
Jesus.” Pope Francis, in his much-awaited apostolic exhortation released
yesterday, declares, “I never tire of repeating the words of Benedict XVI which
take us to the very heart of the Gospel: ‘Being a Christian is not the result
of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person
[Jesus], which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”[4]
The ultimate “major,” upon which everything else rests, is a life-changing
encounter with Jesus Christ.
It’s not about getting people to believe a bunch of doctrines.
Pope Francis insists it’s “not obsessed with the disjointed transmission of a
multitude of doctrines.” Rather, “the message has to concentrate on the
essentials, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing.”[5] It's what Rayburn called "the strongest, grandest, most attractive personality ever to grace the earth."
And what/who is that?
In a word – Jesus.
“In this basic core, what shines forth is the beauty of the saving love of God
made manifest in Jesus Christ.”[6] This is the underlying truth that sustains our lives. This is the essential message kids need to hear. This is the simple light that illumines the whole. If we get this one essential thing right, everything else follows. “Every
expression of true beauty can thus be acknowledged as a path leading to an
encounter with the Lord Jesus,” Francis says.[7]
The simple light is Christ.
Lord, give us the eyes
to truly see you. Let your Light shine into every part of my life. And allow
your Light shine through me into the lives of others.
[1] Lk
11:34.
[2]
Symeon the New Theologian, 10th century monk and mystic, notes, “The
simple light is Christ. He who has his light shining in his mind is said to
have the mind of Christ. When your light is this simple, then the whole
immaterial body of your soul will be full of light . . . So see to it,
brothers, that while we seem to be in God and think that we have communion with
him we should not be found excluded and separated from him, since we do not now
see his light.” 1 Cor 2:16; 1 Jn 1:6; Discourses 33.2, SNTD 340-41.
[3] The Life of Teresa of Avila, ed. E.
Allison Peers (Garden City, NY: Image, 1960).
[4] Pope
Francis, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy
of the Gospel), 7.
[5] Ibid,
35.
[6] Ibid,
36.
[7] Ibid,
167.
Hey Michael, great reflection! I was wondering what the reference of "Ibid" was? Not questioning your resources, just wanting to read whatever you are reading.
ReplyDeleteKyle
Thanks Kyle! Always good to hear from you!
Delete"Ibid" is shorthand for the Latin "ibidem" which means "in the same place." They basically refer to the previous notation. So those listed above all refer to different paragraphs of Francis' Evangelii Gaudium.