Glorification of God the Father: Paul tells us that "...the same God who said, 'out of darkness let light shine', has caused his light to shine within us, to give the light of revelation - the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians, 4: 6). We must note three points here:
a) It is God the Father who created light (See Genesis, 1: 3).
b) The same God the father has created in us the light of revelation.
c) This revelation consists in letting us see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Glory of God: It follows that proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is at the same time an announcement of the glory of God the Father. Besides, Paul tells us that the Gospel is the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the very image of God. Those who are not able to believe the Gospel are blinded by the god of this passing age and are on the way to perdition. That is why they cannot be enlightened by the light of God's revelation. The preachers do not proclaim themselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord and themselves as the servants of the people. How the preachers should conduct themselves may be seen from 2 Corinthians, 4: 1-5. Jesus himself had taught his disciples to be light for the whole world "... so that, when they see the good you do, they may give praise to your Father in heaven" (Matthew, 5:16). The art of doing good that automatically glorifies God the Father is the hallmark of a true disciple of Jesus Christ whereby his Gospel is proclaimed. Many so-called disciples might try to justify the glory and honor that accrue to them from their good deeds by saying that they never asked for it. The point to remember here is that as a result of our good deeds glory should have been automatically gone to the Father in heaven. This is what happened in the miracles of Jesus when the people glorified the God of Israel for the wonderful things done among them. If it does not happen with us, it may be because of the secretly lurking desire in us for honor and glory! The solution to this problem is suggested by Jesus himself when he said: "... when you do some act of charity, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing : your good deed must be secret, and your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you" (Matthew, 6:3-4). Even our prayers are to be done under a cloak of secrecy as the soul of prayer is contemplation of God resulting in thanksgiving and glorification of the Father in heaven (See Matthew, 6: 5-8).
In order to reflect the glory of God, we have to deflect it from ourselves. If we allow glory and honor to percolate our selves, there will not be any reflection just like the light that passes through a transparent glass passes through it. A glass fortified by mercury is able to reflect the light back to the one who looks at it projecting an image of oneself. This is the difference between a mirror and a simple piece of glass. We are called to be mirrors of the glory of God for which we have to be fortified by His image, Jesus Christ. One may say that the analogy of the mirror does not hold good in as far as the image seen is not one's own but that of Christ who stands for mercury in the mirror. The dissonance is only superficial, in as far as the humans are able to see their own image properly only through the image of Christ whose very life, death and glorification have defined what it is to be human. Proclamation of the Gospel has to go to the deepest level of what constitutes the reality of being human , especially in today's world of so many acts of brutalities perpetrated by so-called "humans" against other human beings.
Where do we start to inquire for such a concept of true humanity except in the teachings of Jesus Christ corroborated and supported by his own life and death? He is the one who taught his disciples not to seek publicity and honor even when they perform some service or charity, prayer and fasting with the express warning that otherwise they would not have any reward from their Father in heaven. This he taught not only by words alone, but especially by example. In the Gospels, we see Jesus spending nights in prayer when everyone was sleeping. Fasting and penance he did in the desert for 40 days and nights. Even when miracles were performed in public, Jesus admonished the beneficiaries not to publish them. Apart from the reason that people would not have understood the true significance of his miracles as signs of the oncoming Kingdom of God, Jesus wanted to deflect the glory and honor that would have been normally given to him. Although many of the beneficiaries of his miracles published them, Jesus succeeded in leading people to glorify God for what he had done through those miracles. How?
Attitude of Jesus: It is obvious from the Gospels that Jesus never wanted glory and honor for himself. His intention is clear from the actions he performed, advice given and precautions taken. If we don't want to be hypocrites in this matter, we have to closely follow the example set by Jesus himself. Unless we watch out and check our secret tendencies to invite glory and honor on ourselves, we may profess to be servants of God being in reality servants of our own selves! It is not enough to say that our intention is pure; the purity of our intention must show itself forth through our actions and the surroundings we create about them. That is why Jesus prescribed secrecy for what could be done in secret and demanded secrecy from others for what he had done in public. Apart from his admonitions of the requirement of secrecy from the beneficiaries of his miracles, there is a clear instance in the Gospels how much Jesus valued self-effacement achieved through lack of publicity for his actions. (This we shall see in the next Post). . .
a) It is God the Father who created light (See Genesis, 1: 3).
b) The same God the father has created in us the light of revelation.
c) This revelation consists in letting us see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Glory of God: It follows that proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is at the same time an announcement of the glory of God the Father. Besides, Paul tells us that the Gospel is the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the very image of God. Those who are not able to believe the Gospel are blinded by the god of this passing age and are on the way to perdition. That is why they cannot be enlightened by the light of God's revelation. The preachers do not proclaim themselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord and themselves as the servants of the people. How the preachers should conduct themselves may be seen from 2 Corinthians, 4: 1-5. Jesus himself had taught his disciples to be light for the whole world "... so that, when they see the good you do, they may give praise to your Father in heaven" (Matthew, 5:16). The art of doing good that automatically glorifies God the Father is the hallmark of a true disciple of Jesus Christ whereby his Gospel is proclaimed. Many so-called disciples might try to justify the glory and honor that accrue to them from their good deeds by saying that they never asked for it. The point to remember here is that as a result of our good deeds glory should have been automatically gone to the Father in heaven. This is what happened in the miracles of Jesus when the people glorified the God of Israel for the wonderful things done among them. If it does not happen with us, it may be because of the secretly lurking desire in us for honor and glory! The solution to this problem is suggested by Jesus himself when he said: "... when you do some act of charity, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing : your good deed must be secret, and your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you" (Matthew, 6:3-4). Even our prayers are to be done under a cloak of secrecy as the soul of prayer is contemplation of God resulting in thanksgiving and glorification of the Father in heaven (See Matthew, 6: 5-8).
In order to reflect the glory of God, we have to deflect it from ourselves. If we allow glory and honor to percolate our selves, there will not be any reflection just like the light that passes through a transparent glass passes through it. A glass fortified by mercury is able to reflect the light back to the one who looks at it projecting an image of oneself. This is the difference between a mirror and a simple piece of glass. We are called to be mirrors of the glory of God for which we have to be fortified by His image, Jesus Christ. One may say that the analogy of the mirror does not hold good in as far as the image seen is not one's own but that of Christ who stands for mercury in the mirror. The dissonance is only superficial, in as far as the humans are able to see their own image properly only through the image of Christ whose very life, death and glorification have defined what it is to be human. Proclamation of the Gospel has to go to the deepest level of what constitutes the reality of being human , especially in today's world of so many acts of brutalities perpetrated by so-called "humans" against other human beings.
Where do we start to inquire for such a concept of true humanity except in the teachings of Jesus Christ corroborated and supported by his own life and death? He is the one who taught his disciples not to seek publicity and honor even when they perform some service or charity, prayer and fasting with the express warning that otherwise they would not have any reward from their Father in heaven. This he taught not only by words alone, but especially by example. In the Gospels, we see Jesus spending nights in prayer when everyone was sleeping. Fasting and penance he did in the desert for 40 days and nights. Even when miracles were performed in public, Jesus admonished the beneficiaries not to publish them. Apart from the reason that people would not have understood the true significance of his miracles as signs of the oncoming Kingdom of God, Jesus wanted to deflect the glory and honor that would have been normally given to him. Although many of the beneficiaries of his miracles published them, Jesus succeeded in leading people to glorify God for what he had done through those miracles. How?
Attitude of Jesus: It is obvious from the Gospels that Jesus never wanted glory and honor for himself. His intention is clear from the actions he performed, advice given and precautions taken. If we don't want to be hypocrites in this matter, we have to closely follow the example set by Jesus himself. Unless we watch out and check our secret tendencies to invite glory and honor on ourselves, we may profess to be servants of God being in reality servants of our own selves! It is not enough to say that our intention is pure; the purity of our intention must show itself forth through our actions and the surroundings we create about them. That is why Jesus prescribed secrecy for what could be done in secret and demanded secrecy from others for what he had done in public. Apart from his admonitions of the requirement of secrecy from the beneficiaries of his miracles, there is a clear instance in the Gospels how much Jesus valued self-effacement achieved through lack of publicity for his actions. (This we shall see in the next Post). . .
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