He said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lamp stand? For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’
These verses hit differently today.
The metaphor of a lamp and its light belonging on the lamp stand and not hidden could refer to the light of Christ – that is, faith – within us, but also it refers to any gifting from God. God gifts us with diverse talents, abilities, knowledge, skills, opportunities, relationships. It felt like this was a reminder that the parts of me that have felt hidden or placed on the back burner for a myriad of reasons will be brought to the forefront. What I feel has been subsumed under motherhood and a pandemic and aging is not meant to stay dormant and waiting, but will be disclosed, brought forth. This is both exciting and terrifying. I feel I have forgotten who I am. What are my gifts? What parts of me have been hidden that can now shine brightly? What does God want of me?
The second metaphor is usually a harder one to accept. Often, we picture Jesus as upending the ways of the world. Bringing down the rich or the haughty and lifting up the lowly or the poor. But here he says, ‘For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’ This sounds like blessing for the wealthy, and punishment for the unfortunate.
However, this maxim isn’t about wealth and blessings, but about Christ’s light within us. Mark places the two metaphors together because they are about the same thing. God’s gifts to us and our faith journey are not to be hidden within us, kept for ourselves. Keeping faith private, hoarding wealth, burying one’s talents, only using one’s abilities for one’s own pleasure is keeping the light hidden. Rather, the gifts of God given to us are to be used for others as well. The measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more. The more we use our faith, the more we share our blessings, the more we harness our talents for the community, the more God enables us to do. When we hide our true selves, we have nothing to give, and even the self we hide will be taken away.
- These are my questions for discernment:
- What are my gifts?
- How do I develop the dormant parts of me?
- What is God calling out in me?
- Who are the gifts given to me for?
- How do I share what God has given to me?