This first of a series of three parables simply makes the point that
there is no point in producing a light if you are going to hide it. This is
obvious, but sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. The image of light is a
powerful one, and frequently used in the Bible. Indeed, Jesus identifies
himself as the light of the world (John 8:12). Here it is simply stated
that nobody brings a light in order to hide it or to cover it up. As Brendan
Byrne (A Costly Freedom) states, this is an “appeal to commonsense
practice in everyday Palestinian village life.”
The light needs to be seen. So, by implication, does the work of God; and so does the Kingdom, even if we all get to see are glimpses. Jesus makes that point here by repeating the statement recorded at the end of the parable of the sower about the vitality of listening. Let anyone with ears to hear listen! To that we might add: let anyone with eyes to see look!
This is followed by a couple of statements which reflect on what the Kingdom, the crucial thing that Jesus came to proclaim, is like. The first of these comes from the marketplace and talks about measures, The second statement builds on this, but presses the image further as it talks about more being given to those who have although then, perhaps surprisingly, about those who have nothing losing even the little they have. The main point concerns God’s generosity. As Byrne puts it – “where God’s gift of the Kingdom finds true receptivity (repentance and faith) on the human side, not only is that capacity filled, but more and more will be added as the journey of faith continues.”
The main point of these discussions and illustrations is to reassure the disciples about what God offers them, but the warning note is an important inclusion, a reminder of the need to look for what God is doing. I wonder what we have seen God doing in recent days. I wonder if there were things we missed because we failed to look with sufficient care or to listen with enough focus.
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