We are made in God’s image, fashioned from the same stuff of which the stars are made. When I look out into the universe and see that star stuff, I see God. “In God’s image” means on the inside as well as the outside, so the intrinsic properties of everything in the physical universe are representative of The Divine.

That holds true for people, as well as stars. So what can we do to make sure that what is fundamental about us stays true to the image of god, an image that stays clear and bright– a reflection of God back to the community? In the Scriptures, Word and Light often appear together as in Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”  Somehow I imagine this light like the sun, bright and sweet like a cloudless sky on a Spring morning. Word and Light, inextricably linked and fundamental properties of all that is.

I think of ourselves in that way, and at baptism, we accept  responsibility for reflecting the Word and the Light, like mirrors reflecting the image of God.

But it doesn’t happen instantaneously.  Even  the creation of the universe took place over some time. Our true selves emerge over time in an evolutionary process, and it’s a lot like preparing a mirror for a telescope, slowly grinding it until the mirror is just the right shape, and polishing it until it gathers and reflects light to its optimal potential.   Our Christian formation  matures as we painstakingly finish the mirror God has designed us to be,  improving our ability to reflect light into dark moments as we live into our baptismal promise.

The Living Word that is revealed in the written words of the Holy Scriptures serves as the polishing cloth, and the joys and scars of our lives are the abrasive compound, gently rubbed onto the surface of the mirror through the constant interaction with the cloth. That is why we must return again and again to the Scriptures, so that the vibrancy of the Word can be seen anew through the lens of our being.

If we faithfully polish our mirrors with the Living Word, we can’t help but evolve until we finish them with a lustre that ultimately reflects  light that is unmistakable as the image of God.