Measures Are About Us And Not About God

James Tissot 1836—1902 "View from the Cross"

Mark 4:21-25—A lamp is to be placed on a lampstand. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.

T

he first point is the image of weights and measures. The earliest recorded systems of weights and measures by the earliest civilizations were connected with agriculture, construction and trade. Most measurements of length were based on the human body—length of a foot, the length of a stride, the span of a hand, and breadth of a thumb. With the advancement of technology, economy and trade between localities across the globe, standardized weights and measures became very important. The science of metrology systematized the various fundamental units most especially in the field of electricity. I remember one experience when I was using my electric shaver in Indonesia, my shaver almost conked out because their electric voltage is higher than in the Philippines. Knowing the measurement of everything not only smoothens daily operations, but you also move away from dangers. Our gospel today talks about measures. “The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you.” We first look at weights and measures in a more positive light. This is the first side of the coin, so to speak. We cannot do away with measures. Just like money, it makes the world go round. The Genesis account of creation in the Bible began when the Spirit hovered above the formless void of the sea and, bit by bit, God placed the necessary measures and boundaries on it. God’s act of creation is the act of putting measures, limits and boundaries as a way of taming chaos back into its proper place. I call this as the “push.” Land appears only after God has pushed the limits of the water; plants and animals came to be because God tells to the water, “Here you stop! You may come no further!”

The second point, there is another side to weights and measures that our gospel is telling us. It is what I call the “pull.” Measurements could be curtailing, limiting, restricting, exacting, rigid, stringent and what have you. Let us not put the blame though on these units of measurement because that is what it has been designed to do. To limit in order to be useful. When Jesus told his disciples, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you…” he was giving them a word of prudence. Jesus does not specify in the gospel what kind of pulling back or measuring up against that one is. But we know he is talking metaphorically about the natural human tendencies of putting limits, boundaries, restrictions and the like. And Jesus’s word of prudence is quite loaded—this measure that we use to others will be measured out to us. If we were not merciful to others, e.g., stingy and stringent in bestowing mercy, how can we welcome God’s immeasurable mercy in our lives. This weighing and measuring that we often find ourselves engrossed with is actually like a yoke that we carry on our shoulders. It could be like a snare or a prison and we long for some escape. This is the same image we find in Psalm 124, “Our life, like a bird, has escaped from the snare of the fowler. Indeed the snare has been broken and we have escaped” (Ps 124:7).

The third point that I would like to dwell on is another image that Jesus uses in the gospel—the image of a lamp that must be placed on a lampstand. It is a very profound image to think about and it is very related to the image of weights and measurements as it unifies the push and pull movements. By giving deep thought to this lamp I can recognize God's invitation to me on how I ought to live my life amidst weights and measures that I surround my entire life with. How can one possibly live an authentic Christian life? Live it like that lamp on the lampstand. Be that light. The measure for our light to be able to shed radiance is the height of the lampstand. The less hidden, or the more outgoing your light is the better. Someone told me that without Shakespeare, Beethoven, Michaelangelo, the world will be much poorer. But I added, the world would be much darker without Mother Teresa, Francis of Assisi, Ignatius of Loyola. The world will even be a lot darker without you, a lot lonelier without your laughter and a lot more boring and dreary without your gift. We use our God-given measure for the common good and not restrict it to ourselves, we do not hide it, we do not bury in the ground just like in the parable of the gold coins. There is a paradox in the image of the lamp. It has a lifespan, according to how much oil it contains and so is our human life. Jesus is saying that even if we are limited humanly speaking—limited in the oil we’ve got, but let us not belittle what we’ve been given from above. Jesus summons us to just go out there and shed some light while you can and you will be surprised when more will be given to you. Look at the stars in the dark night. Know that most of what you see come from stars that have died eons ago but they continue to shine. So never compromise for God never makes compromises. That is the paradox, it is a mystery of running dry of fuel and yet the light is multiplied the higher you are positioned on the lampstand. Jesus reassures us, “To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” This one line merits another homily in order to reach its depth. It has a lot more than meets the eye. But let me just wrap it up. One positive view of measuring ourselves or others is that it points to our littleness, it reminds us that these measures are not about God. It is about us. That we are little, but done for good measure. Since there is an advantage to being tiny as one Chinese proverb, anonymously written, once said,

“The advantage of being tiny: like a blade of grass looking up at a tree, like a stream looking out on the ocean, like a light in a village hut looking up at the stars in the sky; because being tiny, I can see what is great.”

Amen, Fr JM Manzano SJ