My dear friends in Christ,
From the earliest prophecies in the Old Testament, when they saw it, and looked and proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, almost inevitably it was linked with this notion of being light – that the Messiah would come as a light. For example, think of Isaiah, ‘a people who walked in darkness have seen a great light’. And even Simeon in the Temple, when he had the Messiah in his hands, spoke of Him as a Light to the Nations.
And so it comes as no surprise that Jesus Himself finally proclaims ‘I am the Light of the World’. And rightfully so, because our Lord and Savior comes to Enlighten our minds with the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that we may know the truth and proclaim it in word and witness. He comes in the grace of the Holy Spirit as light to warm our stony hearts, and to make them hearts of compassion and mercy and forgiveness, as we ask for forgiveness of our own sins to our merciful Father.
And the same Savior comes as light, light that draws power and energy to our hands, into our will, so that we might not just know the truth and have compassion for those around us, but to do the good, to do what the Lord did to follow in His footsteps. For after all, that is what it means to be a disciple; is to do what the Master did.
Now I remind you and me of this because today the Lord goes one more step. And He says ‘you are the Light of the World’. What does He mean? And what is He asking of us? And perhaps, my dear friends, something that we see every time we come to this beautiful cathedral of ours and almost every Catholic Church can teach us what the Lord is asking of us.
When I first came to the diocese and first walked into this Cathedral, what struck me more than anything else was the beautiful stained glass that we have that surrounds us. In fact, many times we may not even allude to their beauty in our midst. Recall, my my dear friends, stained glass arose in the life of the church to help those who could not read or write. To learn their faith so that they could see it in image and be able, with the movement of their heart, and the inquisitiveness of their mind, to begin to learn the mysteries of this who comes – this One who comes as the Light of the World.
But as you and I know, if we come to this Cathedral at night, we will see almost nothing in these windows. They are darkened. Because it is the light that goes through them that allows them to be what they were meant to be.
And when we look at them now, we do not ask, ‘well what’s the protective glass on the other side?’ We don’t think about who may have created them. We don’t even think about the paint that was part of them, or the pieces of glass that form them. We just see the Mysteries of Christ.
So my friends, what I’d like to suggest to you, is that we, the light of the world, ought to be like these panes of glass; so that the Light of Christ shines through us. So that when people see us, they do not see us, but they see the Lord alive and vibrant and inviting and asking for passion and compassion through us.
Because the light is not ours – it’s His. The grace is not ours, it’s His. In the good that we do unto eternal glory, is not ours – it’s His. But this is the challenge. None of us in this church perfectly acts like that glass. For we have walked in darkness. And at times we cling to the darkness. And to the extent that you and I live in that darkness, we cannot be the light of the world.
And so I ask you this coming week to reflect: where is it in your life and mine, that we still walk in darkness, where we are not truly the Light of Christ in the world? Allow me to give you some examples.
Is your mind clouded? Is mine clouded? Do we know the fullness of the truth and are we willing to speak it in word, and more importantly in witness, so that when people see us they are seeing the truth of Christ, the Light of the World?
Consider your heart and mine: who is it in your life that you refuse to forgive? Who is it for whom you hold a grudge? Who is it that you may have written off? Who is it for whom you have no patience, no tolerance? Who is it that you have said ‘I’ve done enough. I am done.’
If any of that applies to you or me, we are still walking in darkness. For the Lord, who is the Light of the World, came to enlighten every heart, to forgive every sin, for those who are sorry and to bring everyone willing to walk with Him unto eternal life. And if it was good enough for the Savior, who are we to think that it is not good enough for me and for you? So we walk in darkness.
And then, how many times in my life and yours we have sat at the kitchen table, or on our sofa, or in our recliner, or in our car, saying ‘I should have done X, I should have called Y, I should have written that note, I should have picked up the phone, I should have made this or that or the other.’ And my dear friends, that is walking in darkness.
Because those opportunities, those inspirations, were the light asking us to be His Light to those around us who was searching for Him. And when we failed to do that, we walked in darkness. So to be called the Light of the World is a grave responsibility. And so we come here to pray for the grace, that we may evermore scatter more and more of the darkness that haunts my life, and haunts your life. For why we may not be perfect, holiness is a stance of life that allows us to become ever more faithful to the Light of the World.
So Isaiah prophesied a people who walked in darkness, have seen a great light. But if the world does not see the light through you and me, the Light of Christ, from where will they see Him?
