No one who lights a lamp sets it under a bed  

22 SEPTEMBER (Lk 8,16-18)

The world wants to obscure the light. The methods used are varied and always new. First with Jesus served itself of the most infamous slander, a very grave sin against the Holy Spirit. In fact, to discredit Jesus, it made of him an ally of Beelzebub.

Then they brought to him a demoniac who was blind and mute. He cured the mute person so that he could speak and see. All the crowd was astounded, and said, “Could this perhaps be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.” But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and no town or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. How can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters (Mt 12,22-30).

This and countless other slanders, lies, rumors, allegations were never able to extinguish the light of the Lord Jesus. It was then decided to take Jesus out of the way in the name of the greater good for the people. You sacrifice one for all the people. Jesus is killed to ensure that the nation of the Jews lives. Then we know that this religious accusation was transformed into a political accusation before Pilate. Truly Jesus was taken out of the way.

So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him (Jn 11,47-53).

Whoever reads the Acts of the Apostles discovers the endless pitfalls placed in the path of the missionaries of the Gospel. St. Paul summarizes all of them in the Second Letter to the Corinthians.

But what anyone dares to boast of (I am speaking in foolishness) I also dare. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I am talking like an insane person.) I am still more, with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, far worse beatings, and numerous brushes with death. Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure (2Cor 11,21-29).

All these things come from the world of darkness to obscure the radiant light of the Gospel. Obscuring the missionary, necessarily the Gospel and the light are obscured.

“No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lamp stand so that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.”

Today there is a subtle, hidden and pernicious danger. Today, more than all the persecutions of the world, more than every malice and wickedness of those who hate the light, the powerful enemy that obscures all the light of the Gospel is the complex of subjection of the Christian. It is as if he felt of a lower rank in relation to the falsehoods that are on earth.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints free us from this danger.