The Light of a Moveable City

On the Sunday of the Fathers of the 4th Council, we read about them being the “light” of the world, a city set on a hill. In our minds, we imagine that the theology of the council is that light. After all, their teaching went into all the world. However, is that what Jesus had in mind when he said those words. Or did he, perhaps, have another, more important teaching in mind?

Bottom Line: To our surprise, the city on a hill can’t be located on a map and its inextinguishable light is not theology, but a Law of love that shows us how to walk The Way.

Show Notes

The Takeaways

1 - When Jesus says "you are the light of the world" and "a city set on a hill cannot be hidden," he's referencing ideas taken from the prophets.

2 - The prophets tell us that God destroyed the physical temple because God's real temple is not limited to a particular place or time. Instead, his temple is wherever people gather to learn his instruction.

3 - The light that Jesus refers to is the instruction that's contained in the Bible.

4 - Scriptural instruction isn't about the nature of God or Christ. Instead, it shows us how to love one another.

5 - When we imitate the disciples and go around proclaiming this Good News, we become God’s moveable temple. We are the light that shines in the darkness. And, as we proclaim God’s instruction to the world, we are truly walking The Way.

Image: Eigerøy fyrstasjon (photograph by Nanco Hoogstad, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license).

What is The Way?

Fr. Dustin Lyon explores scripture to rediscover Christianity so that we can walk in the Way of the Lord.