Light in the Dark
Every morning as part of the morning office of the church, I say these words, He will give light to those in darkness, those who dwell in the shadow of death, and guide us into the way of peace — words from the Benedictus (or Song of Zechariah), spoken by Zechariah upon regaining his speech at the circumcision of his son, John the Baptist.
As I pray these words, I ask myself: ‘Who are those who live in darkness today?’
They are people searching for hope without finding it; those who are experiencing ‘blindness’ to truth; or people living in fear and anxiety.
In this weekend’s Gospel from John, we hear how a blind man was anointed by Jesus, with mud mixed with his saliva. Jesus gave light to him; the man was released from physical darkness. He and his parents were then interrogated by the Pharisees. The Pharisees didn’t want to accept the truth — that Jesus was a man from God — because he did not keep the Sabbath. They were men living in darkness, and remained in the dark. In contrast to them, we have the man who gradually as the story progressed, came to see who Jesus really was — from being the man who gave him his sight, to being a prophet, to finally seeing him as the Son of Man. Jesus asked him, Do you believe in the Son of Man? He answered, And who is he sir, that I may believe in him? Jesus replied, You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. He then declares to Jesus, Lord I believe, and worships him.
This Easter Vigil, the Godparents of our newly-baptised adults light a candle from the newly-blessed Easter candle and, in handing it to them, the priest says: ‘You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk always as children of the light.’
This Sunday, at the Second Scrutiny in preparation for their baptism at Easter, we pray for those who are to be baptised, saying: ‘Father of mercy, you led the man born blind to the kingdom of light through the gift of faith in your Son. Free these elect from false values that blind and surround them. Set them firmly in your truth, children of the light forever.’
Let our prayer this week be:
Loving Lord, dispel any darkness in my life. Be the light that shine in my heart. Heal me and preserve me from the unbelief of this world and enlightened by the Holy Spirit may I never fail to profess the Good News of salvation and share it with others. Amen.
