The triumph of light over darkness is part of our story; it is built into the human race. We were not made for the darkness we were made for the light. But somewhere back along our history we turned away from God and the light and fell into darkness and forgetfulness.
But even then God did not abandon us. The light of His truth shown dimly, calling us back to Him. This was the age of the prophets and the great cultural storytellers. The prophets continually sought to remind us of our beginnings and our true home but we could no longer comprehend the light. The pre-Christian mythological cycles were efforts to explain something we could only dimly perceive, the Hand of God reaching out to us, inviting us home.
Then everything changed. No longer content to wait for us to come to Him, God became one of us and came to live among us. Our salvation rested on the faith of a young virgin who took God’s offered hand and brought Him to us.
Still there are some who sit in the darkness trying to disentangle the nets of their lives, ignoring God when He passes by and calls them to Him.
May we all have the courage and love to abandon the futile works of darkness and answer the Lord when he invites us to come after Him. And when we have done so, let us remember those who still sit in the darkness and go to them with a candle.
Pax vobiscum
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time