A Lamp on a Stand

Picture someone lighting a lamp, and then quickly hiding it under a bucket. Or shoving it under the bed. It is silly, isn't it? Jesus thought so too. And he used that silly picture to say something important.

In Galilee, crowds followed Jesus everywhere: fishermen, farmers, mothers with children, the sick and the curious. Once, on a hillside, he sat down and taught them what it means to belong to God's kingdom. Another time, by the lake, he told them a story about a farmer sowing seed. And both times he talked about lamps. Everyone in his audience knew the little clay oil lamps that lit their homes. In the evening, you filled it with olive oil, lit the wick, and set it up high on a lampstand, so its small flame could fill the one room of the house.

No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed, Jesus says in Luke's Gospel, but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. A lamp has one job: to shine. And then Jesus adds, for nothing is secret that shall not be made known. The truth of God's kingdom is not meant to stay hidden. It is meant to be seen. So, he says, take heed how you hear. Listen carefully. Whoever has, to him more will be given. The more we listen and act on what Jesus says, the more light we receive.

On the hillside, in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus says something even bolder. Ye are the light of the world. Not just, I am the light, though he is. You are. Fishermen and farmers, ordinary people, the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid, he says. Perhaps he pointed to a town on a hilltop nearby, its white houses catching the sun, visible for miles. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel. They put it on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

Then comes the point. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Notice where the praise goes. Not to us. When people see our kindness, our honesty, our care for others, they are meant to look up and thank God. Our light is borrowed light, like the moon shining with the sun's light. The light that came into the world at Christmas is meant to spread, from one lamp to another, until the whole house is bright.

The bushel Jesus mentions was not a basket. The Greek word, modios, was a standard measuring container for grain, a household bowl that held about two gallons, or around nine litres. Every home had one. Putting it over a lamp would not only hide the flame. It would starve the flame of air and put it out.

A Lamp on a Stand. You'll find it in Luke chapter eight, verses sixteen to eighteen, and Matthew chapter five, verses fourteen to sixteen. At Christmas we hang lights everywhere; Jesus reminds us that his followers are meant to shine all year. So here is a question to carry with you. Where might you be hiding your light, and what one good thing could you do this week to let it shine?