Gospel (Mk 4:21-25)

And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And he said to them, “Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Commentary

After speaking about the sower who went out to sow, about the seed that fell on good ground and began to bear fruit, and the seed that fell on hard, rocky ground and among thorns and failed to bear any fruit, Jesus speaks about the lamp placed on a lampstand and the measure with which we measure our self-giving.

A Christian is someone who gives without measure. For that is Jesus’ way of being, of living, of thinking, of acting. Our Lord does everything without measure, abundantly. Nothing is held back.

A Christian is also someone who has received Christ’s light, a light that came into the world to dispel the darkness in our hearts. Hence every Christian must be a witness to that light.

We all have to see ourselves in that light. We are not trapped in the darkness of our own miseries, sins and weaknesses, nor in the darkness that surrounds us in the form of failures, humiliations, lacks of gratitude, neglect. We are children of the light, beloved children of God, who cares for us, saves us, and always waits for us.

And he wants us to be witnesses to that light. He wants us, through our care, our work, our knowing how to wait, to forgive and console, to bring God’s light to so many hearts in darkness. And to do all this without measure, with magnanimity, because we are children of such a magnanimous Father.

Thus the heart of a Christian is a heart that is open, and not enclosed in its own selfishness. It is a heart that does not set limits: it doesn’t care for others only up to a certain point, it doesn’t forgive only up to a certain moment. It is a heart that desires to be the heart of Christ, a heart that gives without measure.