Christ is a light that needs no fuel: He is God, and St. John writes, “God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all,” (1 John 1:5). There is no source of light in creation that exist of itself, that shines without consuming some manner of fuel, and with this comes a byproduct: ashes, for example, and smoke.
In our Gospel Jesus points out how the Pharisees are trying to shine with their own light, the Law being merely their fuel source, and there was much smoke blinding them to the truth. For the Law was meant to be illuminating; not merely for the Jews but for the whole world: “For [the Gentiles] deserved to be deprived of light and imprisoned by darkness, they had kept your children (the Jews) confined, through whom the imperishable light of the law was to be given to the world,” (Wisdom 18:4). But instead of being bearers of that light, of letting God’s Word be a lamp for their feet, a light for their path (Psalm 119:105), they sought to be the master’s of the Law. They could see only the flaws in others but not themselves; the smoke of their pride blinded them to the Light that shone in front of them. They are blind guides (Matthew 15:14), supplanting God’s Laws with their own and offering a smoldering stick when the very light which will illuminate the City of God—Jesus, the Lamb of God (Revelation 21:23)—could be offered instead: a smokeless flame that outshines even the sun and moon, that reveals all things (Luke 8:17) and casts no shadow.
Let us allow the Light of Christ to cast out all darkness, all pretense, all pride from us. Rather than assume we know best, rather than twist God’s Word to work for instead of seeing ourselves as called to labor for Him, we must seek purity of heart, that His Light may shine through us with clarity, not only for the sake of those who come to see by that Light, but that we may recognize His light shining in others.