Become Light: Sunday Scripture ReflectionIn this world of darkness, the light of Christ shines through his words, which illuminate all men and women who live by them.
Today’s Scripture ReadingEphesians 5:8-14 Once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light — for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, “Sleeper, awake! and Christ will shine on you.” Scripture ReflectionThe Christian life is a strange balance of light and darkness. On the one hand, we are called out of the “dominion of darkness” (Col. 1:13) into the light of the Kingdom of God. On the other hand, the Lord himself, whom we seek, has “made darkness his hiding place,” and he is veiled by a canopy of “dark storm clouds” (Ps. 18:11). Close readers of Genesis 1 have deduced that, since the world which God created for us after first dividing the light from darkness had heavens which required lights (sun, moon, stars) to illuminate them, our world is therefore the one which was created on the “darkness” side of that first division, rather than on the “light” side. Hence, while all the choirs of angels dwell in the light, beholding the face of God, this world is in “the valley of the shadow of death” (Ps. 23:4). Our world, perhaps, is that canopy and veil of darkness shrouding the Lord from our sight. Hence, St. Juan de la Cruz spoke of approaching God through “the dark night of the soul”. God cannot be touched, tasted, smelled, heard, or seen. With regard to our senses, he is in total darkness — because we are in total darkness. Our approach to him is bounded on every side by our own limitations — the darkness of our own souls. There is no venturing beyond this, no place where we can see God beyond the boundaries of our own darkness. Darkness is, perhaps, the seat of our very souls. “No one has seen the Father,” we have been taught (Jn. 1:18). But Christ the Son of God is his image (Col. 1:15), and he calls us to imitate him and take on his likeness. We are called to the transfiguring light of Tabor, even while we walk in the valley of the shadow of death. In this world of darkness, the light of Christ shines through his words, which illuminate all men and women who live by them. Hence, in the Lord we may be light (Eph. 5:8). “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” (Jn. 1:5). Living by this light, we may be children of the light (Eph. 5:8). The children of light are called to “expose” the “unfruitful works of darkness.” (Eph. 5:11). In our age, we tend to think of exposure as taking the form of an exposé, as in journalism, where the secret life of some such person is brought into public view in order to heap shame onto him or her. But Paul tells us, “it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly” — surely, then, a typical exposé is not in view here, since what is an exposé but a rather detailed “mentioning” of what certain people do secretly? Such behavior doesn’t just bring shame upon the exposed, but the exposer as well, according to Paul. Rather, he says “everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light.” Indeed, everything visible in this world is a reflection of light; but Paul here is not asking us to reflect light, but to shine it. In other words: one who takes part in “unfruitful works of darkness” is to repent, and bring forth light. This is what he means by “exposure”. This is a call to transfiguring conversion, as well as a call to non-judgment: our lot is to illuminate our own lives, and mind our own business in doing so. Is this too gracious to the, at times (many at that), wicked world around us? Judge for yourselves. The light of the world descended from heaven not to condemn the world, but to save it (Jn. 3:17); according to scripture, the world of darkness is already under wrath and condemnation (Ro. 1:18, Eph. 2:3) — this is, in fact, the nature of the darkness — so what would our shaming anyone do but add to this darkness? Is this not the well-worn path? What is the history of fallen man, to whom dominion over the world was given (Gen. 1:28), but a reign of trial and error, cause and effect, crime and punishment? There is nothing new under the sun that we may offer as a contribution when it comes to this song and dance. But Christ offers us something new, grace, under a new sun, the divine light of the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world (Rev. 21:23). If we truly believe that Christ is the Lamb of God, we would hold nothing against anyone, knowing that his precious blood was shed for them. Scripture warns us that to exchange grace and mercy for the shaming and condemnation of fellow sinners is to insult the spirit of grace, trample the Son of God underfoot, and spurn his blood as an unholy thing (Heb. 10:29). We must be gracious. This graciousness is the light which we may become; it is the eternal spring from which we may draw living water for all people, the endless resource of patient loving-kindness. If we allow this light of Christ, communicated to us by his teaching words, to open our eyes, we will awake from the dead, and the transfiguring light of Christ will shine out from within us.
Song Meditation: “Whether We’re Awake or Asleep”
He died for us so that whether we’re awake |
Hymns and Homilies, by Seán McMahon Seán McMahon |
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