21 He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. 23 Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” 24 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. 25 For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.” Mark 4:21-25
The Parables are drawing me in lately. Jesus' stories that he told that are deliberately open to interpretation. Interpretation comes from our own outlook towards the world which could also be a window into how we see ourselves.
The Church has led with an emphasis on sinfulness and that we are wicked to the core. While we do sin, when God made humanity he said 'very good', we have a knack for forgetting. Toxic shame distorts our reality. When I used to read the part that says "For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light." it was always in terms of a coming humiliation before God and all. A full exposure. It scared me, honestly. My imagination, due to shame, could not see the exposure as simply humble vulnerability is the presence of God who IS love. I was keenly aware of my sin and wrongheadedness, it was the main thing I was aware of and this created a very egocentric faith obsessed with behavior management. Grace doesn't play this game. Grace is all and it IS reality. Grace that declares we are the worthy children of God. Grace kills the ego.
When we lead with shame and an emphasis on sin we allow what was meant to keep us humble to become a point of view of deserving punishment humiliation . Look at the tragic history of self-flagellation. This shame based view of the Gospel was what I carried from childhood. It resulted in a yo-yo faith of doubting my worth at times and others chasing the reality of grace. I don't think I am alone in this experience.
What if this parable has nothing at all to do with our sin and exposing it? What if it is about something even more? The kingdom of God? In context that is what the parables are speaking to but toxic shame is powerful.
Here it is paraphrased in a different way:
He said to them " You don't turn on the light to block it out? You turn it on to see more clearly. The reality of God's unconditional love is being unveiled for all. This cannot remain secret. It must be proclaimed. If you have ears, use them. Do you only pay attention to the darkness? What is it you hear then? You will hear more and more of that which you want to hear. If you hear of the expanding nature of the reign of love, it draws you in more and more. It is a divine conspiracy. If you don't want to see the reign of God, even your little understanding will slip away."
It still has an element of warning to it. It speaks more to perspective and trust. If we want to see that God is God, it is beneficial to actually believe it. Why would Jesus instruct us to pray for the the 'kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven' if that wasn't what God had in mind? Prayer isn't always about asking for what we want and waiting for it, it is also asking for eyes to and ears to see and hear what God is actually doing. The reign of God is not ushered only at the end of days. It began to be more fully recognized in the death and resurrection of Christ.
Doubt is also a part of the journey, that is okay. Life experiences can cause the light to be hidden from our view. That is okay, life and death happen and trust is not always easy. Faith believes even in the doubt even if its just a tiny shred of belief. This isn't about only seeing the positive. The reign of God is recognizes easily when show compassion which is literally c0-suffering. The love and reign of God enters into our suffering by the Spirit and each other.
The media and political rarely see the kingdom and love advancing. What about the Church? The light of love is not under a bushel. It is all around you and I. Seek it and you will find it.