“You are Light of the World”
The second metaphor that Jesus uses to describe his disciples is comparing them to the “light of the world.” In 2002, Pope John Paul II gave the theme for World Youth Day in Toronto, “You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the World.” Just like salt, light is as an essential part of life. In the dawn of a new millennium, the late Holy Father wanted to remind us that we are the light that shines in the darkness.
Why does Jesus call his disciples the ‘light of the world’? There are many Scriptural references to light that Jesus recalls when he names his disciples the ‘light of the world.’ It also gives the mission of the disciples a universal tone; they are the light of the world, not of Israel alone. Their duty is to shine and illuminate those “men who live in the world or who love it.” [1]
The first thing God did in creation was to create of light. [2] Light is created on the first day and the sun is created on the fourth. In the physical world, the sun is the source of light, but in the spiritual world, Christ is the source of light. Light brings forth sight and warmth. These are symbols of the Lord himself, of Heaven and of Life. [3] Christ is the light himself. When He ascended into Heaven He did not leave us empty handed. He left us his teachings, His One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church, and His presence in the Eucharist. Christ’s disciples are the light of the world when they/we choose to be Christ to others do not know or love God.
What ‘light’ does Christ speak of in the Gospel? The ‘light’ Jesus speaks of is the light of faith, “God’s free gift, which enlightens the heart and clarifies the mind. It is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Christ" (2 Cor 4:6). That is why the words of Jesus explaining his identity and his mission are so important: "I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (Jn 8:12).” [4] We confess we believe “in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God.” [5] Jesus is the very light that he speaks of in the Gospel, if we have Him in our lives
How are we the ‘light of the world’? When we live in the light of faith, we show men the way in the midst of darkness. It is Christ that “rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.” [6] Christ has rescued us and so we now are able to rescue others. When we look at the lives of the Saints we see that “they lived in accordance with their faith, with their irreproachable and upright conduct, they shine like bright lights in the world’ (Phil 2:15).” [7] We are light because we are the Body of Christ, the Church. The Church is the Light to the Nations; we therefore are called to bring light to all nations and all people. There are so many who wander in the shadows and for those people, God is not far off. “Nor is God far distant from those who in shadows and images.” [8] All light comes from one source, and God in His mercy “enlightens all men so that they may finally have life.” [9] We must look for the light in the darkness of each culture, because any light that we see is from God and in preparation for the Gospel.
How do we remain the ‘light of the world’? What a flame needs to stay alive is oxygen. For the flame or light of our faith to breathe it needs to stay connected with Christ. We could say that the light of faith needs the oxygen for grace to stay alive. The most essential way to stay connected with Christ is through prayer. In prayer we seek the face of the Lord. [10] The light evokes the desire for truth and thirst for the fullness of truth and knowledge, which is engrained in every human person. [11]
A priest once said that the best way to keep our light from going out is to remember MARC.
Mass. Adoration. Rosary. Confession.
When we attend Mass, we participate in the sacrifice of Christ and receive Him body, blood, soul, and divinity. In Adoration, we venerate Christ and spend time in praise and awe of His most holy presence. When we pray the mysteries of the Rosary, we meditate on the virtues of Jesus and Mary that we find in the Gospels. “It [the Rosary] has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium.” [12] A great place to begin meditating on the Gospel is to pray the twenty decades of the mystery. What better way to keep our light than to meditate especially on the mysteries of light which include: The Baptism of Jesus, The Wedding at Cana, The Proclamation of the Kingdom, the Transfiguration and the Institution of the Eucharist.
Another way to keep the light from going out is to go to Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) often, especially if we have committed a Mortal Sin. Not only does Christ breathe new life into us, but he is also like the surgeon using his light to heal the wounds we have done to ourselves by sinning.
Why do we want to stay in the light? Light represents Heaven and life. Darkness, on the other hand, symbolizes “disorder, death, hell and evil.” [13] When we shine our light twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week in everything we do, we show Christ to the world. Those that have lost sight of Christ, by not knowing what God is calling them to do, fall more easily into sin. If we lose sight of light, we could end up extinguishing our own light. To stay in the light is a choice. Jesus said very clearly that the weeds [dark] and wheat [light] would grow up together. “If you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest.” [14] No matter how dark the world gets, no matter how many weeds grow, all are called to stay in the light to be a witness and live for Christ. In our own life our sin is the weed and our holiness is the wheat. It is important when we are examining our conscious to look into our life and see where there is grace (wheat) and where there is sin (weeds), the sin becomes more evident in the light of grace. Saint Edith Stein describes this penetrating light as the Holy Spirit. “Are you the ray that flashes down from the eternal Judge's throne and breaks into the night of the soul, that had never known itself? Mercifully relentlessly, it penetrates hidden folds. Alarmed at seeing itself, the self makes space for holy fear.” [15]
Cold does not exist; it is the absence of heat. Darkness does not exist; it is the absence of light. Sin does not exist; God did not create it. Sin is the absence of Grace, the absence of God. Many times in life we are too focus on the negative. We focus on what is absent rather that what is present.
[1] Augustinus, The Preaching of Augustine: "Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount," 17
[2] Gen 1:15
[3] Fernandez In Conversation with God, 34.1
[4] Message for the 17th World Youth Day, n. 3
[5] The Order of the Mass I; Nicene Creed
[6] Liturgy of the Hours; Week II, Wednesday, Evening Prayer; Canticle from Colossians 1:12-20
[7] Fernandez In Conversation with God, 34.1
[8] Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), No. 2, 16
[9] Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), No. 2, 16
[10] Catechism of the Catholic Church 2656
[11] Message for the 17th World Youth Day, n. 3
[12] Apostolic Letter; Rosarium Virginis Mariae; Pope John Paul II
[13] Fernandez In Conversation with God, 34.1
[14] Matthew 13:29-30
[15] Novena of the Holy Spirit by Saint Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)