30 March 2014 - rejoice in the light

30 March 2014 - rejoice in the light

“Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

It is hard to admit when we are wrong.  Jesus is the light of the world but to one degree or another we all "were once darkness".  Praise him that we are now "light in the Lord."  Yet Paul still has to exhort us, "Live as children of the light".  The works of darkness still tempt us all in one way or another.  We have to make a conscious choice to avoid them.  We are often tempted to accept society's darkened worldview in small ways.  A darkened worldview takes the light of focus off of our sinfulness so that we don't have to confront it.  But this is a temporary solution.  Let us reject it.

Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention
the things done by them in secret;
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for everything that becomes visible is light.

Jesus himself is the only solution.  He is the only source of light.  He tells us, "Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going" (cf. Joh. 12:35).  Without him we stumble in darkness.  The very wisest are blind guides apart from him, no more able to lead us to our destiny than anyone else.

John cites what may be a baptismal hymn.  Baptism is the sacrament of enlightenment wherein our eyes are first opened.

“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”

He is reminding us to walk in the power of our baptism.  At our baptism we are made a new creation.  Just as the blind man is made new with clay from the earth mixing with the annointing of the Holy Spirit symbolized by Christ's saliva so too are we made new.  His point is not that we have been baptized and are therefore free to do things on our own apart from Jesus.  His point is we must live the gift we have been given.  We read again, "Live as children of light".

We are to be near to him like sheep stay near to their shepherd.  When we do he gives us repose and refreshes us.  When we do the dark valley of death cannot frighten us.  The banquet of the Eucharist is ever before our eyes because communion with him is our greatest good. 

Just as he anoints David for the kingdom...

Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed David in the presence of his brothers;
and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.

...so to does he anoint us:

you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

He raises us from the darkened world to a dignity which is purely a gift from him.

“And you have made them a Kingdom, Priests and Kings to our God, and they shall reign over The Earth" (cf. Rev. 5:10).

What does it mean for us to reign over the Earth?  It is not some abusive tyrannical power as the world often understands power.  It is the power to spread the light of Jesus to the world that remains in darkness.  It is the power to rejoice even when the world insists that we ought to mourn!