You Are The Light of The World
A Reflection On Matthew 5:14-19
The Lord said to his disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:14-19
Today’s Gospel lesson speaks to us about how Christ’s coming has drastically changed each of our lives. Through the luminous presence of Christ, we become light as we shine His light from within us. He has come to show us the fullness of the Law and the Prophets, and in doing so, He has fulfilled our very lives.
When we reflect on the term fulfillment, we might bring to mind a cup that has been filled to overflowing. As the liquid continues to cascade over the cup’s rim, we see it pour freely wherever it wills. Such is the example of God’s gifts for all of us, for in the coming of Christ, His light has been shared with the whole world, flowing where God wills. Each of us is called to become a partaker of what He offers us.
Examining the Gospel itself, we hear our Lord tell His disciples:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.”
Remember, with Christ’s coming, we have received His light. In our baptism, we have died to this former age and been reborn in His loving and saving presence. In baptism, we enter into full communion with God, and in doing so, the fullness of His Spirit is revealed as dwelling within us, shining His light through our lives.
With the fullness of God dwelling within each of us, we are presented with all the gifts He offers: His mercy, peace, love, and ultimately salvation. All of these gifts come through being known by God, and thus it becomes our calling, with the whole of our lives, to seek and know Him as fully as we can.
The light of God’s presence reveals how our lives are transformed by seeking full communion with Him. As we continue to seek His gifts, we become more like Him, and our example of seeking and modeling Him in our lives radiates that same light to the whole world.
The gift we have received is so powerful that it cannot be hidden. In the same way that we cannot hide the light of a city on a hill, neither can we hide a lit lamp beneath a bushel. The light and fire of the lamp are so powerful that they will always shine through the darkness. What this tells us about our lives is that, through the gifts God offers us, we are never too darkened to be illumined by His light.
Our Lord therefore calls us, through the gift of His light, to:
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Yet in the same Sermon on the Mount, our Lord tells us regarding charitable works:
“When you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”
—Matthew 6:4
These words are not contradictory. One passage warns us not to become hypocrites who intentionally perform good works in order to be seen by others. The other teaches that when we pursue Christ and model Him in our lives, the light of that life will naturally shine before others. When we give glory to our Father in heaven, this becomes the result.
We may then ask: how do we discern when to keep our good works private and when to allow them to be seen?
We must be intentional about not doing good for the glory of others, for no lasting reward comes from such actions. For our light truly to shine through the good we do, we must recognize that our ability to do good comes through the gifts God has given us. Thus, all that we do must be directed toward the glory of God alone.
God has given us the fullness of His gifts, and it becomes our calling to glorify Him through the way we live. This is the ultimate recognition of all He has given us.
Thus, our Lord tells us:
“Think not that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Our Lord tells us here that He has not come to contradict Himself by doing away with the Law and the Prophets. Remember, God is the Giver of the Law and the source of the Prophets’ wisdom. If He were to abolish them, it would contradict His own perfection.
He further affirms:
“For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
What the Law and the Prophets have been leading us toward all along is the coming of Christ. For this reason, until the end of the age, represented by heaven and earth passing away, not an iota or a dot—not even the smallest detail—will pass from the Law until all written within it has been accomplished.
The Scriptures lead us toward the fullness of God’s saving mercy and continually reveal this reality throughout history.
Our Lord offers us the fulfillment of all that we are called toward, and it therefore becomes our calling always to seek Him through meditation on Scripture and through the whole of our lives.
Thus, He calls us to this standard when He states:
“Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.”
These concluding words tell us that if we become lax in following Christ and in seeking the fulfillment He offers us, then we will miss the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven, as represented by being called least in the Kingdom.
By speaking of those who teach others, Christ also reveals that it is our calling to teach the fullness of life in Him. As mentioned before, we teach this primarily by living it—by seeking God and the fullness He offers us. If we fail to do this with the whole of our lives, we miss the fullness He freely offers to us all.
Yet if we both teach and live the commandments of our Lord in their fullness—that is, with the whole of our lives—the promise is that we will be called great in the eyes of our Lord when we stand fully in His presence and Kingdom.
This is a warning concerning the proper orientation of our lives. We are called to do all things for God and to keep our eyes fixed upon Him always.
There will be times when we become hypocrites and miss the mark of this calling. Lord knows—and God forgive me—this is a state in which I have often found myself.
Yet the beauty of our tradition is that we can always repent and allow our Lord to transform our lives, filling what is lacking within us from the abundance of His grace.
As I have stressed before, we are not called to save ourselves, nor are we called to save others. We have a Savior who has come to offer us the fulfillment of His salvation.
What we are called to do is seek Him and the gifts He offers us with the whole of our lives. Our Lord offers us fulfillment in His loving and saving presence, and we are called humbly to receive His gifts.
Life is messy, and at times we will fail, for we are human and imperfect. Yet at the end of this chapter, we are called:
“Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
—Matthew 5:48
We cannot become perfect on our own. Yet in receiving the gifts God offers us, He ultimately grants us the fulfillment of perfection in His presence.
In following Christ, we share His light with all whom we encounter, for He truly dwells within each of us. He offers us every gift we need to live fully in His loving and saving presence, for this is the mark of His love for us.
The Law, the Prophets, and all of Scripture lead us toward the saving reality of what God is accomplishing for us. It becomes our calling to seek Him and the gifts He offers by giving Him glory through the whole of our lives, for this is the greatest recognition of His goodness.
For all He continues to do for us, truly to Him be all glory, honor, and worship, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
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