Reflection for Sunday, January 5, 2003: 2nd week in Christmas.
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Authors
Alexander, Andy, S.J.
Issue Date
2003-01-05
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Essay
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en_US
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He chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,| to be holy and without blemish before him.|The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.|As we continue to contemplate the meaning of our God's coming to be among us in the flesh, we continue to be open to the coming of Jesus in our day-to-day world, in the "flesh" of our real life situation.|Our celebration of Christmas may not have been full of joy, or a joy that has lasted this week and a half. It may have opened more wounds. It may just be a blur, by now. The "good news" that we continue to open our hearts to is that Jesus is still with us. Jesus is with us in our flesh, in the places we find ourselves in. Jesus will always be a Light, shining in the midst of our darkness. The "good news" is that if we "know" him and "accept" him, he gives us great power - the power to be his children.|The challenge is to believe and live this "good news." It is a challenge because we are so "at home" in this world - a world that simply will not accept him as the Light. The Darkness of this world cannot "overcome" the Light, but it sure is able to reject it - to say, in a variety of cleverly sophisticated ways, "There is no light for this darkness." We face a great challenge because there are many "rewards" for refusing to let the Light shine within us, and there are many "costs" to letting the Light "illuminate" our darkness. As much as our patterns might be painful, self-destructive, and at times loathsome to us, they are what we know, what we are comfortable. There is a tremendous reward in not having to change. The cost of change is always some kind of death. Even ridding ourselves of a deadly pattern feels to us like dying. But, of course, that's the way it looks in the darkness, where we simply can't see clearly. In the Light, surrendering what's killing us is to choose Life.|Walking in the Light this week will give vision to the eyes of faith. The losses we've experienced, the sacrifices we are being asked to make, the burden of illness we bear, are all seen more clearly as opportunities to be with Jesus, as never before. Our daily journey, when made with the help of the One who lets us see the way clearly, is never alone.|Too often, when we struggle in the midst of some real pain or deep discouragement, we cry out, "Where is Jesus in this?" In today's gospel we have the answer to our question. Jesus is where we hurt the most. Jesus can be found in darkest crevices of our human experience.|To accept the Light is to experience healing. The One who did not hesitate to "become flesh," and pitch his tent among us, does not avoid our pain. To love us is to love us whenever there is darkness in our spirit. To shine his Light in every corner of our darkness is to reveal, bring out from the darkness, to deliver our most intimate human-ness. Jesus always embraces us there. And, in his embrace, we are set free. We are freed to walk without discouragement. We are freed to love others, without being so tied to our own needs. We are even freed to proclaim his good news to a world in need of Light.|As we walk into church today, let us pause briefly, take a deep breath, remember the good news about the power of the Light. Then, let's move to our pew, ready to celebrate. And, as we walk out of church, let's resolve to walk in the Light this week, and when we feel the shadow of darkness crossing our path, let's acknowledge the Light in our hearts, the One who has desired our freedom-filled holiness, from the beginning of Creation.
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University Ministry, Creighton University.
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These reflections may not be sold or used commercially without permission. Personal or parish use is permitted.
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Lectionary number: 19