The Private-Public Dilemma

There is a conundrum in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus calls his followers the “light of the world.” The whole purpose of a light is to provide illumination. A city on a hill cannot be hidden, Jesus said, and no one lights a lamp and then covers it. So, he commands us, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”