Nothing Hidden

Thursday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

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Gospel of Mark 4:21-25

Jesus said to his disciples, "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."

I did some very stupid things in college and up through my early twenties.  My mom reminded me of this last night.  I'm very embarrassed to say I was involved in a hit and run car accident years ago.  I rear-ended a lady and then took off! It didn't take long for a police officer to show up at my mother's house looking for me.  I happen to be at work, so my mother called me to tell me the news.  She was furious with me. I was furious with myself for doing something illegal!  We ended up paying the owner cash to fix her car. She never filed charges against me, thank God! My mother asked me if I would repeat the same behavior if I was involved in an accident today.  I said, "Heavens no!  I learned a huge lesson!"

..... I will never get away with doing something bad, wrong or illegal.  Hidden secrets will always be revealed and come to light.  

Mothers have an instinctual ability to spot trouble.  They know when we aren't telling the truth.  We can't hide anything from our mothers.  This goes the same way with God.  We can't hide our improprieties.  We can't pretend to be doing good when we're doing wrong.  We may be able to fool our peers and acquaintances into thinking we are model citizens, but this is sometimes far from the truth.  We are all sinners, like it or not.     

When we try to hide the truth, it comes back to bite us.  When we try to block out Christ's love and compassion, we are only left with the feeling that we're missing a meaningful part of our life.  It's like owning a lamp without a light bulb or a candle without a wick!  It's difficult for us to function at a high capacity if we aren't honest with ourselves and others.  We truly need the light of Christ to strengthen us so we are not tempted to make the wrong decisions.   

It's important for us to reflect on our mistakes and learn from them.  One thing that is so awesome about getting older is the amount of wisdom we accumulate.  I think about my stupidity in my younger years.  Yes, I wish I had made better decisions.  However, this what makes life challenging and interesting.  What if God didn't allow us to make a fool out of ourselves every now and then?  What if God didn't allow us to make poor decisions?  We'd never grow in our faith.  We'd never understand the importance of God in our everyday lives.

Remember:  If you try to hide something, it will eventually be revealed no matter how hard you try to keep it a secret!

-J.