At the core of every person there is a radiantly beautiful spark of eternity, kindled by the beating of our hearts, which no darkness can overcome. It is the light of Christ, the law of love imprinted in our minds. When we allow our inner flame to shine unobstructed, every part of our soul is blessed. Every member of our body sees the light, with all the goodness it bestows, and gives glory to the source from which it comes. In the sermon on the mount Jesus says,
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16 NRSVUE)
A little later, in the same sermon, Jesus expands on this teaching, saying,
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for a slave will either hate the one and love the other or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:22-24 NRSVUE)
In the first passage, Jesus tells us our inner lamp is the light of the world – it is that which enables us to see. In the second passage, he tells us our inner lamp is also an eye – that which receives the light and does the seeing. The mind’s eye perceives things as they really are in all truth, it is the essence of awareness and intuition. It is something other than our imagination, memory, and reasoning mind. It is an emanation of God – a reflection of the light of Christ. It is our natural capacity for contemplation. If our eye does not perceive the light, we live in darkness, unaware of the blessings within us.
Our inner eye becomes filled with darkness when it is oriented towards the wrong things. If we are turned away from God, we end up worshipping false idols, like money and power. We cannot serve two masters for the same reason we cannot make eye contact with two people simultaneously. Our inner vision is singular and cannot be divided. A little later in his sermon, Jesus gives another enigmatic teaching which should be read in light of this insight. He says,
“Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14 NRSVUE)
If our inner eye is constantly looking this way and that, trying to take in everything at once, we travel the path of destruction. This is the easy path because letting your mind wander aimlessly requires no discipline, it is wide because it lacks focus. If we narrow our attention, however, so that our inner vision is fixed upon Wisdom, we walk along the path of life. Few find this path because it is difficult, requiring both patience and practice. It is tempting to place our light under a basket instead, filling our inner eye with darkness as we walk the wide and easy path to destruction.
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