Please read the passage before the homily.
I have an oil lamp. It measures roughly three inches in diameter and five and half inches in length. It is dated “ROMA GMG 2000”. It was not stolen from an archaeological dig; it is a copy of an ancient oil lamp. It can be filled with oil and have a wick run through it from the circular oil reserve and the neck to the opening for the light. It can be moved from place to place, room to room. If put under a bed, an ancient one or a modern one, it could cause a fire. If put on a table or a stand, it can give light to a whole room.
What is the light and who are we? The light could be the light of Christ’s ministry and mission. That light is entrusted to us to be kept burning brightly. We are set upon a stand or a table, not under a bed, to give Christ’s life and light to all.
Light is meant to shine; secrets are meant to be broadcast; and hearing is meant to bring good results. If our light fails to shine, if we keep our secrets wrapped up, and if we do not hear right, we may lose the ability to shine, to have secrets and to hear. We could end up blind, deaf and without memory in those things that pertain to the kingdom of God.
We should take care, then, how we hear, see and remember lest what we have turned out to be a mirage and a figment of someone’s imagination.
My oil lamp is a symbol of bygone days. Now we have electric lighting. The light of God, however, remains; it must continue to glow in our days.