According to Jesus, our “eyes” allow the light of God’s truth to enter our souls. And our “eyes,” through our words and actions, can shine the light of God into the world.
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar, but on the lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light; but if it is not healthy, your body is full of darkness. Therefore consider whether the light in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be as full of light as when a lamp gives you light with its rays.”
Superman had a supernatural vision. With his X-ray vision, he could perceive what others could not see. With his Heat Vision, he could melt objects in his fight for justice. We don’t have eyes like Superman, of course. But, according to Jesus, our “eyes” allow the light of God’s truth to enter our souls. And our “eyes,” through our words and actions, can shine the light of God into the world.
As a boy, I loved watching Adventures of Superman on television. Starring George Reeves as the Man of Steel, Adventures of Superman introduced me to the one who was at the time my favorite superhero. I’d watch the program on weekday afternoons when I was quite young, using the commercials as an opportunity to run around the house trying to fly. I did plenty of running, but never could quite master flying.
The George Reeves version of Superman had plenty of superpowers, including his famous X-ray vision. Superman could see through almost anything, except for lead. I can’t remember, however, if Superman of the 1950s TV show had Heat Vision or not. At some point in the development of this superhero, his ability to absorb energy from the sun allowed him to focus that energy and shoot it through his eyes as a weapon.
You may be wondering why I’m rhapsodizing about Superman’s supernatural visual abilities. I’m doing so because, in a way, people in the time of Jesus thought about the eyes in a way that reminds me of the eyes of the Man of Steel. It was common in Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures to think of the eyes as producing light, not taking it in. If you think of eyes as windows through which the brain looks, this makes sense in a way. Your eyes shine your inner light into the world so that things “out there” can be observed, “in here.” You can’t burn things up with your Heat Vision, but you can shine light from your eyes.
Thus, Jesus could speak of the eye as “the lamp of your body” (Luke 11:34). Of course, his teaching in Luke 11:33-36 isn’t really about physical seeing. Rather, the eye represents something like the conscience, the part of us that discerns right and wrong and also projects the contents of our souls into the world. Having a healthy eye is a matter of moral righteousness both in discernment and in action.
Though we no longer think of eyes as projectors of light, we can certainly receive the point of Jesus’s teaching. If you want to be full of God’s truth and grace, your moral discernment needs to be healthy. And if you want to share the goodness in you with others, then you need to project it faithfully. Prosaically speaking, we do this with our words and deeds. People will see the light in us – or the darkness – according to our speaking and acting. When we project the light of God into the world, not only will it be visible to others, but also we will be “full of light” (Luke 11:36).
Superman used his supernatural vision in order to fight for “truth, justice, and the American way.” We use our moral vision in order to discern God’s truth, do works of justice, and pursue the way of the kingdom of God. As we do this, others will see the light of God through us even as our own souls will be filled with this glorious light.
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