Let God’s Light Illuminate the Dark
A Reflection for the Fourth Sunday of Lent
March 26, 2017
By Rev. Robert Johnnene OFM
Mission Saints Sergius & Bacchus/ Order
Franciscans of Mercy
Reformed Catholic Church
I have come into this world, so that those without
sight may see and those with sight turn blind’. John 9:39
Christ is the light that
brings truth and justice to all who believe, Christ came to enlighten us and to
teach us the way to seek our happiness here on earth as well as to gain for us
Eternal happiness.
In Paul's letter to the
Ephesians he tells us: “You were darkness
once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the
effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth.
Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the
futile works of darkness but exposing them by contrast. The things which are
done in secret are things that it is ashamed even to speak of; but anything
exposed by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated turns into
light. That is why it is said: Wake up from your sleep, rise from the dead, and
Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:8 – 14
All around us today we see
darkness and it is necessary for us to turn on the light to dispel that
darkness. So how do we bring the light of truth into the world? We do it by
placing our lives in God's hands and by living according to the way Christ
taught us.
First we have to
acknowledge that every person on the face of this planet is a child of God and deserves respect, dignity, compassion and love.
I recall a quote of Mother
Teresa of Calcutta who said; “God told
us, "Love your neighbor as yourself." So first I am to love myself
rightly, and then to love my neighbor like that. But how can I love myself
unless I accept myself as God has made me?”(St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta)
By accepting our self as
God made us and making the best of the gifts God gave us for the benefit of all
our brothers and sisters in Christ, we take a huge step toward dispelling the
darkness that depresses us and discourages us.
The Responsorial Psalm for
this Sunday is a prayer attributed to King David. It is a prayer that, if we say it daily, can
remind us of all God does for us and of
how much we need to attempt to return the favor by helping those who are caught
in the darkness of discontent, poverty, and illness. We need to reject the enticement of those who
listen to the voice of darkness by seeking only self-glorification, power,
money and physical pleasure.
The Lord is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing. He has
taken me to green pastures, He has led me to still waters;
He has healed my spirit. He has led me along right paths for his own name’s sake. Even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me: your rod and your staff give me comfort. You have set a table before me in the sight of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil, and my cup overflows.
Truly goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. For long years I shall live in the house of the Lord. Psalm 22 (23)
He has healed my spirit. He has led me along right paths for his own name’s sake. Even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me: your rod and your staff give me comfort. You have set a table before me in the sight of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil, and my cup overflows.
Truly goodness and kindness will follow me all the days of my life. For long years I shall live in the house of the Lord. Psalm 22 (23)
Mother Teresa reminds us: “Words which do not give the light of Christ
increase the Darkness”.
In the Chinese Han
philosophy the world is divided into two segments, Yin (Earth) and Yang (Heaven).
Yin is depicted as black or
darkness and Yang is depicted by White or light. Many also describe Yin and
Yang as being Good and Bad, Day and Night, and all agree that they are in
opposition to each other but also they exist in all things, just as the
inclination for good and evil exist in every person which may well be that
often there is a spot of black in the white and white in the black.
The concept is that people
who do not know what bad is cannot know what good is.
Christ clearly came to
enlighten us as to what good is and how we were to act as children of God.
Christ came to dispel the darkness.
Think about your favorite
horror movie and how most evil things that happened did so in the darkness.
Safety Officers tell us
that having lights around our house at night is a deterrent to thieves. Light
dispels darkness and fear and the light Christ brought into the world was a
light of truth, justice and God's will for us.
The Gospel of John 9:1-41
is the story of how Jesus cured the blind man. It is another reminder of how
Christ brings light into the world.
A man born blind has lived his
entire life in darkness. The story tells
how after Jesus brought sight to the blind man he went to the Synagogue and how
the Pharisees claimed Christ was from Satan because he cured the man on the
Sabbath “This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath” when they
questioned the man's parents they replied thusly “We know he is our son and we
know he was born blind, but we do not know how it is that he can see now, or
who opened his eyes. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.’ His parents
spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to expel from
the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ.”
In my mind, not much has
changed today. There are still people who refuse to acknowledge Christ and some
who do select the parts of Christ's teachings that suit their own agenda but
reject the most important teaching of Christ “Love one another as I have loved
you”. They do not accept ALL God's
children but only those that reflect their skin color, or nationality or social
and political orientation.
Christ welcomed all who
came to Him. Just as His father will
welcome and love ALL His children even those who have wandered away just like the Prodigal son's father welcomed
his son who had strayed away with joy and feasting when he returned humble and
sorrowful for his actions.
God, Our heavenly Father,
will always welcome all and forgive all who return to Him with sorrow for their
failures.
When the darkness is
dispelled and we walk in the light of Christ, even in the most difficult
situations of our life we will be able to find a ray of hope.
The Gospel story ends with
these words “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see
might see, and those who do see might become blind”
If you were blind you would
not be guilty but since you say “We See” Your guilt remains.”
We have been shown the way,
the truth and the light through Jesus Christ. This Sunday is Lætare Sunday when
the Church interrupts her Lenten mournfulness and instead of purple,
rose-colored vestments, flowers adorn the altar and music is often used creating
a marked contrast between the other weeks of lent and today.
The word Laetare means
“Rejoice” and comes from the Entrance Antiphon for the Mass which is; “Rejoice Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who
love her; rejoice with her, who mourned for her, and you will find contentment
at her consoling breasts.”
This Sunday differs from the
other Sundays of Lent not only by the brilliant rose vestments and music and
even in some cases flowers because it is emblematic of all human life, happiness
and joy often mingled with a certain amount
of sadness, just as the Yin and Yang which represent the two forces in the
universe, according to a Chinese theory: yin is the passive, negative force,
and yang the active, positive force.
I have often said and
believed that we can never truly appreciate happiness until we have experienced
sadness and the greater our sadness in life so also will be the greater
happiness.
The message for this Sunday
is one of hope because it speaks of God's truth and the promise of finding
truth in the Light of Christ.
As the light of the world,
Jesus has come to enlighten people about God and show us the way to gain
everlasting life.
The blind man represents us
and Jesus curing the man born blind represents how Jesus Teachings bring the
message of God's truth to us and lights our way to salvation if we live our
lives in a manner consistent with Christ's teachings.
I close this reflection
with the opening prayer for this Sunday: “Gracious
Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true
bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may
live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.”
The Eucharist we receive is
the bread of life because it is the Body and Blood of Christ which provides us
with the graces or “Spiritual vitamins”
to persevere in our journey of following Christ’s light guiding us in our daily
lives.
It is not enough for us to
say “I believe” we also need to live our faith by through our daily actions reflecting
the teachings of Christ. AMEN
