Unhidden

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“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."
- Matthew 5:14-16

When we hear this passage from Scripture, it may be tempting to skip to the end—the exciting part, the part where we get to take action. We like to hear that we have the power to go out and change the world, and even secular culture is fond of the image of "letting our light shine." We are a nation of "do-ers," go getters, movers and shakers. It is something upon which we pride ourselves as Americans.

But when we skip to the end, we miss what letting our light shine really means.

The city did not make itself.

The city did not choose to be on the hill. It did not drag itself, brick by brick, to a place where it would be a beacon to the world. No, it is only on that hill because it was put there under someone else's power. It was someone else who gave the city its influence, its significance, and the chance to "shine before others." 

There is a pervasive attitude in our world today that says we have to "make something of ourselves." That is what the world means by "letting your light shine." But that's not what God means. Though it is true that we do have a responsibility for what we do with our lives and the gifts we've been given—Jesus was very clear about that—the city did not have to make itself. And neither do we.

At the moment of your Baptism, you received a light that cannot be extinguished. The Holy Spirit is in you, whether you are aware of it or not. Your soul was changed in that moment in a way that can never be undone. The fancy term for that is "indelible mark." In other words, your soul has been marked, claimed for God with a stamp that cannot be removed or "deleted." 

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It is the Holy Spirit living and moving and breathing in you that will "make something of you." All you have to do is cooperate.

​You are the city on a hill.

You and I, from the moment of our Baptisms, became those cities on a hill. We were placed there by God, with the help of our parents and Godparents. You may not have chosen it when it happened (if you were an infant), but you are there nonetheless. 

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Whether or not you will be on that hill is no longer up to you. You have been built. You have been planted. You have been placed there with great dignity, with divine purpose. And people see you​. Whether you want them to or not.

Does that scare you? It scares me a bit, if I'm honest. If you're anything like me, you make a constant effort to put your best face forward. The reality of being human, though, is that we can't keep our flaws to ourselves forever. Sooner or later our imperfections will out themselves, and the idea of "hiding under a bushel basket" suddenly becomes very appealing. But you can't hide a city. Something always gives it away.

You decide what people see.

The home I grew up in sits on the side of a bluff in rural Wisconsin. If you have ever been in the country at night, far from the city, you know how still and complete the darkness can be. In it, everything seems close, intimate. Everything except the stars, which leap from the blackened sky with an intensity you can never see in the city. During the day, if you know where to look, our home can be seen from miles away. But at night, it almost completely disappears. When all the lights are off, you can barely spot the faint speck of light that is our doorbell. It's nearly impossible to see, and you can never be absolutely sure it's there, but if you look hard enough, it can be found. 

Sadly, this is the way many of us live our lives. Instead of shining brightly to the glory of God, we shut the blinds and turn off everything that comes with a switch. If we turned on all the lights and opened the blinds, everyone would be able to see inside! They could see our messy rooms, the dishes we didn't wash, the laundry we didn't put away, and all the things we've wanted to but never gotten around to changing.

We couldn't hide anymore.

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But that's just it. The idea that hiding is an option is an illusion. Remember? You are a "city on a hill" which "cannot be hid." People see you. And they either see you living brightly and joyfully, or they see your boarded-up windows and "No Trespassing" signs. 

​What kind of city are you?

Are you a city full of light? Or one that has been closed up? I think most of us are a little of both. There are areas that we leave open—the safe areas that we're not ashamed of, or where we want affirmation—and there are others that are always closed. The challenge is allowing Christ into all of those places, both "safe" and "unsafe," so that He can make them all bearers of light.

​You don't have to shine on your own.

God didn't place you up on that hill and then abandon you. He gave you the Holy Spirit so you could become something greater by His power than you could ever be on your own.

We were not meant to hide away in fear with closed blinds and doused lights. "For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline" (2 Tim 1:7). It is a Spirit that transforms, that "makes all things new" (Rev 21:5). And if we really believe that God is God, we have to believe that He is actually capable ​of turning sinners into saints. If we believe that, the places we hide become places of glory, because it is there that we see how truly awesome God is. If we believe that, we no longer have to be afraid. 

If we really believe that God is God, we have to believe that He is actually capable of turning sinners into saints.

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Some of the greatest Saints we've ever known have been some of the greatest sinners. Augustine, Mary Magdalene, Matthew, Margaret of Cortona, and even St. Paul (just to name a few). The Church holds them up as examples of people who were imperfect—even seemingly hopeless—but still transformed by God because of HIS greatness, not theirs. 

These Saints lived as cities ablaze with the light of God. And because of their courage, we know Christ. Because of them, we can take heart in the assurance that no one is too far gone, no shadow is too dark, no city is beyond repair. After all, Jesus was a carpenter. 

We never know how the way we live our lives will affect those around us. By the grace of God, may each of us have the courage to live boldly and joyfully in the glory of God, as shining cities on a hill. Unafraid. Unashamed. Unhidden.​

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(This blog was previously posted on a page that is no longer active.)