(Audio)
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
Very few people who prefer darkness to light are fully aware of it, open about it, or proud of it. It is rather that we sometimes give in to resistance we feel to the light, because the light often feels painful at first. Not only are our eyes not used to the light but what the light reveals to actually be the case, both about the reality of the world and about our lives, may disapprove the lies and fantasies of sin that we had heretofore assumed. Coming from darkness to light is no small adjustment. It is easy to see why, on our own, we would choose to leave the switch set to off, why it was so vital that someone would come to us and wake us up, to turn on the lights, and to give us at least the opportunity to open our eyes.
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
God gave his only Son for us in spite of the fact that he knew that we preferred darkness, that some would continue to prefer darkness to light. Even when that light revealed not only man's sinfulness, but also the unfathomable love of God for man, some would reject that love. Even knowing his gift would not always be welcomed he nevertheless was compelled to do everything he could to bring humankind from darkness to light.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
It was not the case that Jesus came to condemn those who would not receive him and accept those who would, even though we often think this way. Rather, our condition apart from him was that we were already lost, that we had "already been condemned", that all had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23). Jesus was rather a rescue mission into a fallen world, giving life and light and hope to any who would receive him.
The only-begotten Son of God, whom the Father gave the world out of love, was the very Word who was with him in the beginning. Through his Word the Father created all things. When the Father said 'Let there be light' (see Genesis 1:3) it was the Son, "through whom also he created the world" (see Hebrews 1:2), through whom the light was made. The Son of God was himself the one whose "life was the light of the human race" that "shines in the darkness" and which "the darkness has not overcome" (see John 1:4-5).
Rejecting the true light revealed in Jesus is a rejection not only of Jesus, but of the whole creation, even though it may not feel this way immediately. It is implicitly saying that we wish that God had not said 'Let there be light,' that he had left things formless and void. It is an semi-conscious desire to return to the Tohu wa-bohu before creation. This is so because we can't really have the world apart from the one in whom the world was spoken into being. The world on those terms is an illusion, no more real than the chaos before creation.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
Yet God came to us not because we had done something to deserve or merit it but in spite of the fact that we could not. He came, not because he knew that we loved the light already, but because he believed that we could learn to love the light Jesus revealed. He came, not because we lived the truth already, but to himself be the way, the truth, and the life (see John 14:6) for us so that in him we too could be brought from darkness to light.
giving thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to share in the inheritance of the holy ones in light.
He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son (see Colossians 1:12-13)
God so loved the world that he wouldn't let anything stand between him and our rescue. Nothing would stop his mission to give us salvation. Nothing, that is, save we ourselves, to the degree that we still prefer our own darkness to the light which he never ceases to offer us.
But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison,
led them out
We imagine that prisons such as this were very dark, but the Lord wants to set us free to walk in the light. We ourselves would not be able to overcome the guards and escape. But the Lord will send angels to us as well. But he does not save us for safety. He does not set us free to free us from trouble. Rather he does so in order that we can face that right kind of danger, and the trouble that he intends for us to face, which we will be able to meet with the abundant grace he provides. When we know the mission for which he releases us we sometimes prefer to stay in hiding. But that is lack of faith, a failure of trust. May we learn to step out into the light as did the Apostles, full of confidence that God who so loved the world has our destiny in his hands and will make all things done out of love for him work together for our good (see Romans 8:28).
Go and take your place in the temple area,
and tell the people everything about this life.”
When they heard this,
they went to the temple early in the morning and taught.
To come out of the darkness we must face the light. Let us pray for the inner transformation we need to welcome that light more and more, to trust in God, and to be willing to be led wherever he calls us.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
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