Nothing Hidden

January 31, 2013

Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest

We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works.  We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.  Hebrews 10:24-25

“Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light.  Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.”  Mark 4:21-22

Piety

Saint John Bosco, you reached out to children whom no one cared for despite ridicule and insults. Help us to care less about the laughter of the world and care more about the joy of the Lord. Amen

Study

The part of Jesus' sermon that Mark's Good News delivers to us today would have fallen on very different ears two thousand years ago.  In the agrarian economy of ancient Palestine, the farmers in the audience were very attached to the land.  As Jesus was considering how to "rouse" his neighbors to love in action, he tried to use themes that would resonate.  Perhaps in today's story, we Americans are less likely to be farmers and raise crops, so all the talk about bushels, measuring, and the economy based on harvesting wheat might be obscured to our ears.  In an era where electricity and light are abundant, the importance of the lamp may be taken for granted.

So let's step back a little in this chapter before we step forward.  Jesus has just instructed the disciples on the purpose of the parable and why he uses these word-stories to teach and preach (Mark 4:11-12):  "The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that ‘they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.’”  The primary themes that Mark establishes are seeing and hearing. 

So, to make sure that the disciples understand that the mystery of God is not to be obscure or obscured, Jesus delivers further illustration.  Just as they understand the parable of the sower, now he adds to it additional images of the lamp and the bushels of wheat to help give more dimensions to the sermon. 

Although these are farmers, it is important to see the deeper meaning and not to be confused or misled with the economic implications but rather see and hear the story on a deeper level.  It is not about having or getting more lamps or bushels of wheat.  Instead it is about hearing the Word of God and working hard to understand it and pass the message on to others.

Action

St. John Bosco was guided into ministry by visions that he had in a dream about helping children.  Although at first the message in these dreams were not evident to St. John, eventually he was able to discern the meaning of the dreams in the life and work to which he was being drawn. 

Because he was at first ridiculed when he spoke of these dreams, St. John delayed taking some important steps toward helping the neglected children.  He ignored the message and hid it under a bushel.  But when he realized the light of truth about the meaning of these dreams, John acted upon that message.  He measured out the meaning in the way he lived his life.  

How do you understand the Word?  How do you share the Word?  How does your life of piety, study and action measure up to the standards Jesus set?