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Live
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The Catholic Telegraph
March 8, 2002The gospel for this Sunday is John’s complex and thoughtful narrative about Jesus’ cure of the blind man, the man’s washing in the pool, the tensions that the miracle caused for its recipient and his family, the cured man’s acceptance of Jesus in faith. This particular reading was clearly chosen for its relevance to the lenten theme of initiation: those who enter the community of faith are freed from their darkness and are welcomed into the light of Christ. The second reading seems to be intended as a commentary on the gospel. (It also has some relevance to the first reading, however, in which Samuel is told to listen to God’s instructions rather than trusting his own instincts, since God sees in ways that are different from the way humans see.)
Our passage from Ephesians comes from the last section of the letter in which the author is giving practical moral directives to his audience. He has warned them about impurity, greed, silly talk, and personal relationships that could be dangerous to their faith. In the verses that constitute our reading he offers them a basic rationale for moral behavior and a general conclusion or two, all based on the image of salvation as light and illumination.
One of the fundamental results of faith (and salvation) is becoming "light in the Lord." Before you were saved, the author says, you were darkness. But you have to live consistently with what God has made you to be, consistently with being light. That means that you have to produce the products of light: "every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth." It also means that you have to learn the ways of the Lord.
Just as light is in opposition to darkness, so also persons of faith have to be opposed to the sinfulness in the world around them. The shameful sins of the pagans (presumably sexual sins in particular) have to be exposed for what they are by believers, by those who are light.
To conclude the passage, the author quotes what seems to be an early Christian baptismal hymn that assures us that being in Christ involves light and life.
This passage contributes an informative image to the little treatise on salvation that our live letters have been giving us during these weeks of Lent: salvation brings us light and also makes us light.
In order to tease out some of the implications of what our text is offering us in this image, we need to reflect a bit on what light is and does in our natural world. (Using images is helpful in teaching because it frees the teacher from dependence on abstractions and technical terms, but also because images have manifold meanings that say a lot in a simple way.)
Light is a symbol of understanding. Intellectual grasp of something is called "seeing the light." When God’s word tells us that salvation is light, it means that living in the Lord enables us to understand things in a new perspective, God’s perspective. When God’s word tells us that we "are light in the Lord" it is telling us that we have the ability and the responsibility to help others understand themselves and their existence as God does.
Light also symbolizes life and energy. Just about everything we are familiar with in the natural world thrives on light and atrophies without light. The most vigorous house plant will die if we put it in a dark basement. Salvation (grace) involves a whole new level of living. It involves having the life of the risen Christ as the underpinning of our present human existence. It means acting with the energy of the Holy Spirit who comes to us with the life of Christ. The difference between living on our own and living the life of God is like the difference between a plant in full sunshine and a plant in a lightless cellar - only much more so, of course.
But we don’t just receive light and salvation. Scripture tells us that we "are light." We are agents of life and energy to others, instruments of God’s salvation. This doesn’t apply just to priests and Church ministers, It applies to everybody who has received the light of Christ.
Light also suggests cheerfulness, joy, emotional well-being. We are gloomy when we are in the dark. Psychologists have recently described and learned to treat a pervasive sadness that affects some people who live in parts of the world where there are long seasons of short daylight. Salvation is a source of joy and well-being, too. It offers us the security of knowing that everything is well with us, that we are heading in the right direction in our life, that what lies ahead of us is a happiness far greater than even the best and most fulfilling experiences of this earthly existence. And the brightness that we experience as a result of salvation is something we are called to share with others.
Understanding, life, energy, joy: they all come as part of salvation. They are gifts that we receive and gifts we are called to share. It’s good to be enlightened. It’s good to be light for others.
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Conversation Questions.
How does grace enlighten me?
How do I enlighten others?
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