Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Letting My Light Shine
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”
It’s hard to read this Sunday’s Gospel, Matthew 5:13-16, without thinking of this old Bible School song. I can’t tell you when I first learned these lyrics; I feel like I’ve known this song forever, and I’m guessing that you are familiar with it, too. In fact, I’m willing to bet that some of you didn’t just read that line, but sang it to yourself.
I must be honest and say that I never thought very deeply about the scriptural reference of this song. “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” As a child, this was a pretty simple concept that we have a light and we are to let it shine. What more do you need to know? I imagined myself walking through dark spaces with a candle or a flashlight. My “little light” would be just enough to guide me in the darkness, to get me safely through my nighttime adventure.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.”
As with most Bible songs that we learn as children, the song did a good job of helping me to learn a snippet of scripture, but maybe it left out the most important part. At the end of the Gospel, we read “your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” Letting my light shine is not some means by which I guide myself. It also is not meant to serve as a way to attract attention to me. Our light must shine for others so that they can glorify God.
In baptism we receive the Light of Christ, and as baptized people we are commissioned to go out into the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19). This task can seem overwhelming and, at times, insurmountable, but how encouraging is to know that we can accomplish this mission simply by letting our lights shine? The best part is that we’re not alone; Jesus promises to be with us (Matthew 28:20)!
We are met daily with opportunities to let our light shine, to point others toward Christ through our good deeds. Little by little, day by day we can help others to glorify our heavenly Father. I can’t think of any better reason to sing and to let my light shine!