JESUS, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD: Light and darkness do not
stay together. It is either one or the other. Before the coming of Jesus, the
world was in spiritual darkness. His coming was the dawn of light, as Isaiah
prophesied: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt
in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shinned” (Isaiah 9:2). The
importance of light cannot be overemphasized. A greater part of the creation
narrative in Genesis was a creation of different kinds of light. The very first
thing God created was the general light that brought about a demarcation
between day and night. Later on, there was the creation of the sun, the moon
and the stars. Light dispels all fears but darkness is the source of fear and
horror. The incarnate Jesus is a light given to the world, whom the world
should follow in order to reach the Father. He affirms it: “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness,
but will have the light of life” (John 8:12); “As long as I am in the world, I
am the light of the world” (John 9:5).
One who walks in the light does not stumble, but the one who walks in darkness
stumbles. If we are not to stumble, we must follow Jesus’ Trinitarian instructions.
People, who do evil, do not want their deeds to come into light; they prefer
darkness (John 3:20-21). This is why Jesus says: “And this is the judgment,
that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than
light, because their deeds were evil” (John
3:19). As alter Christi, we are the light of the world (Matt 5:14).
PRAYER:
O Jesus, the
Light, scatter the darkness of our souls and illumine us with your light of
truth, so that we may always walk in your ways. Amen.
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