Daily Gospel Reflection for September 25, 2023

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Reflection by Leslie Lynch

Today's Gospel: Luke 8:16-18

Today’s Gospel is the parable of the lamp, which is pretty straightforward—at least the first verse. The light of Christ given to us in Baptism is ours to share in a broken world, through the gifts God has given us.

Got it.

And there’s nothing perplexing about God knowing my secrets or that they will be exposed. My first response to that is, “I need to go to Reconciliation!” The power that secrets and sin hold over me/us is broken by shining Christ’s light on them in the confessional.

However, I’ve stumbled over the idea of more being given to one who has, while what the one who has not will lose even what they seem to have. That never seemed fair.

What are the things that one may have or not have?

More to the point, what does God want us to have?

Not money. Not status. What God wants us to have resides in our hearts, which He can see clearly.

Mercy. Humility. His Son’s servant heart. To anyone who strives to possess such virtues, God floods with more.

And then I notice the word “seems” in the verse about the one who has not.

Ah.

The one who has not is missing the virtues God wants us to have. I may seem to have faith, piety, status, or blessings. But if God sees hypocrisy or self-righteousness in my heart, He will strip me of those obstacles to intimacy with Him.

Yet hope is not lost.

Even when God deprives me of what I seem to have, it is a grace. A grace that leaves space for God to continue His good work in me—good work with which I can cooperate by entering Christ’s light in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Where light begets light.

Ponder:

When I shine Christ’s light into the shadows of my heart, am I brave enough to call out my own hypocrisy—or do I need the divine assistance of the confessional?

Pray:

My dearest Jesus, please help me root out self-righteousness and other obstacles to intimacy with You. I desire Your friendship above all things and wish to place Your light on the lampstand of my life.

Click to tweet:
What God wants us to have resides in our hearts, which He can see clearly. Mercy. Humility. His Son’s servant heart. To anyone who strives to possess such virtues, God floods with more. #DailyGospel

Copyright 2023 Leslie Lynch

Leslie Lynch lives near Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband and a rescued, feral-turned-sweetheart cat. She’s written three full-length novels: Hijacked, Unholy Bonds, and Opal’s Jubilee; and two novellas: Christmas Hope and Christmas Grace. She is an occasional contributor to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis’s newspaper, The Criterion, and holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University. Learn more at www.leslielynch.com.