We Imitate Jesus by Being Light for the World

Deacon Les
Homily

WEDNESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER (C)
14 APRIL 2010

Acts 5: 17 - 26

[Acts 5:17] Then the high priest rose up and all his companions, that is, the party of the Sadducees, and, filled with jealousy,
[Acts 5:18] laid hands upon the apostles and put them in the public jail.
[Acts 5:19] But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out, and said,
[Acts 5:20] "Go and take your place in the temple area, and tell the people everything about this life."
[Acts 5:21] When they heard this, they went to the temple early in the morning and taught. When the high priest and his companions arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin, the full senate of the Israelites, and sent to the jail to have them brought in.
[Acts 5:22] But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison, so they came back and reported,
[Acts 5:23] "We found the jail securely locked and the guards stationed outside the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside."
[Acts 5:24] When they heard this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were at a loss about them, as to what this would come to.
[Acts 5:25] Then someone came in and reported to them, "The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area and are teaching the people."
[Acts 5:26] Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them in, but without force, because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

Luke 3: 16 - 21

[John 3:16] For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
[John 3:17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
[John 3:18] Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
[John 3:19] And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.
[John 3:20] For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.
[John 3:21] But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.


When someone has been in a dark room for about half an hour, his eyes become accustomed to the darkness, principally through the buildup of long photosensitive molecules within the eyes, called “visual purple”. If a light is turned on, the visual purple is “bleached” by the influx of light, and the person is unable to see until he becomes reaccustomed to the light.

This natural process can serve, to an extent, as a metaphor for the effects on a person of spiritual darkness and spiritual light. In today’s Gospel, Our Lord states that

[John 3:20] ...everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed.

The metaphor falters in that saying that the eyes become accustomed to darkness--what is strictly meant is that they become accustomed to low light levels, not absolute darkness. In the spiritual reality, the moral darkness of the evil to which evildoers cling is absolute--that is, there is no vestige of the light of truth in any evil deed.

The person who clings to evil recoils from the light that exposes that evil--to the extent that he remains attached to the evil is to the extent that he hates the light. Again, using the metaphor of the dark room with a light suddenly switched on, the evildoer hates the light because he is blinded by it, as Our Lord states in John 9:

[John 9:39] ...Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind."

In today’s Gospel, Our Lord states the result of the coming of light into the world:

[John 3:19] ...the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.

We know that this light is Our Lord Himself, as He states in John 8:

[John 8:12] Jesus spoke to them..., saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Those who have the light of life themselves become sources of light for the world in which they live, as Our Lord states in Matthew 5:

[Mat 5:14] You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
[Mat 5:15] Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.
[Mat 5:16] Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

As disciples of Our Lord, we baptized Christians are to have our light shine forth. Men of good will will welcome this light, and men immersed in evil will hate this light, which means that they will hate its source. The contemporary culture in which we of this time and place are to live out our Christian calling is fraught with a moral darkness so absolute it is nearly palpable. Each of us, if faithful to our baptismal promises, will be a blazing torch piercing this darkness--good men will be drawn to it, and evil men will be repelled by it and hate it.

The light that has been given to us to have shine forth in front of men consists of the natural light of well-informed reason united with the light produced by supernatural grace. In following Our Lord in manifesting the light that He has bestowed on us in Baptism, nourished in us by the Eucharist, and renewed in us by Reconciliation, we can expect to be attacked by the world evil as He was attacked by the world of evil. When this happens, we know that we are doing something right, as Our Lord states in John 15:

[John 15:20] Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

Logic, reason, and the witness of a life of grace are the enemies of the evil which they unmask. We pray daily to the Holy Spirit that we will grow in wisdom, grace, and strength before God and men, as did Jesus when He walked the earth, showing evil for what it is, and showing the grace-filled life for what it is.