Today’s readings begin with a line from Isaiah that is proclaimed at the Christmas Midnight Mass, “The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light, upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” Few of us know the feeling of being in darkness, unable to move because we cannot see any light. I once experienced total darkness in an underground cave, where the absence of light left me feeling very much alone and hesitant to move.
There is certainly a great deal of darkness in our world. The headlines remind us of that reality constantly. In today’s Herald, I read a young teenager jumped to his death from an overpass in Lynnwood. A gunman in Everett recently wounded three bystanders outside a nightclub. A man in Arlington was arrested in connection to a fatal stabbing two weeks ago.
Had there been a newspaper in Capernaum 2000 years ago, Jesus may have read similar headlines. Darkness existed then as well. Isaiah described this region near the Sea of Galilee as the district of the Gentiles. Their irreligious ways evidently had a major influence on the Jews who lived there, allowing them to grow distant from God and the celebration of their faith; hence they are described as people living in darkness.
Jesus began his ministry with the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repent has several meanings. Among them is to feel remorse, but repent means more than simply feeling sorry for one’s sins. Repent also means to “make a change for the better as a result of remorse for one’s sins.” If we want to experience the kingdom of heaven, then we must practice the art of repenting. We must make a change for the better in our lives. So long as we live with the status quo, unwilling to change for the better, the kingdom of heaven cannot be experienced.
Granted, change doesn’t come easy. Jesus knew that and he spent three years wandering the hillside of Galilee and the streets of Jerusalem proclaiming that change can happen if one would take to heart the good news of his preaching. He served as a light to people in darkness and once they were freed from the darkness of sin, they served as a light to others.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta once visited a man who literally lived in darkness. His room was filthy and dirty. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling. There was no light in the room and he rarely opened the curtains. The condition of the room reflected the sad state of the man’s mental and spiritual condition. He was living in despair and gloom, convinced that no one cared about him.
She began to clean his room despite his many protests to leave him alone. Beneath one pile of rags and trash, she found a dusty, grimy looking oil lamp. After much polishing, Mother Teresa asked him why he never lit the lamp.
“Why should I? I don’t need it for myself. I have become used to living in the darkness…and no one ever comes to see me.”
“Will you promise to light it if one of my sisters comes to see you?” she asked. He replied, “Yes, if I hear a human voice, I will light the lamp.”
One of Mother Teresa’s nuns began to regularly visit the man. No longer was he living in darkness, literally and spiritually. His life was now brightened by the oil lamp and the light of hope and love which had been lit in his darkened heart, all because one person cared about him.
One day he said to the nun visiting him, “Sister, I am ok now. From now on, I’ll be able to manage on my own. But do me a favor. Tell that first sister who came to see me that the light she lit in my life is still burning.”
What a lovely thought! “The light she lit in my life is still burning.” Imagine how many lives would be different had someone lit the hearts of those whose actions harm themselves and others. Imagine how different our lives would be if the millions who had been aborted in our country had been allowed to see the light of day and someone’s love. Imagine how different your life would have been had your heart not been lit by the message of Jesus.
The word, repent, is so important that it is actually the first word Jesus speaks when he begins his public ministry. He is calling us to a change of heart, to take on a new way of thinking and living.
In addition to wondering how we ought to repent, some of us may be thinking, “What should we do?” For starters, do what you can to dispel the darkness of sin. Pray to resist the urge to sin. Do that which adds to the light of the world, not that which is just part of its darkness. No matter how much any moral decision might cost us, we will always be happy with ourselves when our choices are determined by the light of the Lord.
We have been enlightened by Christ and his teachings but some times we ignore him when it comes to choosing how to handle a given situation we find ourselves in. When we base our decision on the values of our faith rather than the values of an irreligious society, than we are doing what we can to bring His light to others. Granted, the temptation is always lurking to sin but anytime we do, we hinder ourselves from experiencing the kingdom of heaven.
Like the apostles, we have been called to enlighten the world. If we live in the light of Christ, we will bring his light to others. In closing, I offer this maxim from Mother Teresa, “Love Jesus, live with Jesus, and you will live for Jesus.”