At present, in these cloudy days we are having, there are those days when the sun's rays prevail. The devastating grey colour is equally matched and conquered by the spectacular light that emanates from the sun. What a relief to experience it! How the human morale is over the moon with joy when this occurs!
The metaphor of light reminds me of its importance in our daily life. Starting from our capacity to see and ending up if we, unfortunately and unexpectedly, experience a national power blackout. The consequences could be devastating! Total darkness, confusion, disorientation, and anxiety can easily take us. And, if they are not dealt with, they could eventually destroy us altogether! Darkness recalls the shattering experience of wandering "in a desert land and in the howling waste of the wilderness" (Deut 32:10). This was the self-induced destiny of the ancient Israelites. However, even in the harsh remoteness of the wilderness, Israel experienced a caring God. So the book of Deuteronomy adds: "He [the Lord] encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye" (Deut 32:10).
In the midst of this terrible existential devastation, God made himself present, much like the shining sun, to his chosen yet disoriented people. The book of Exodus says that "the Lord went before them [the People of Israel] by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night (Exodus 13:21). Commenting on this verse, Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary says: "Those whom God brings into a wilderness, he will not leave nor lose there, but will take care to lead them through it. It was great satisfaction to Moses and the pious Israelites, to be sure that they were under Divine guidance. Those who make the glory of God their end, and the word of God their rule, the Spirit of God the guide of their affections, and the providence of God the guide of their affairs, may be sure that the Lord goes before them, though they cannot see it with their eyes: we must now live by faith."
This agrees exactly with what the Bible says in the Old Testament. Psalm 27 says: "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" (Psalm 27:1). And in the prophecy of Isaiah, "the Lord will be your everlasting light" (Isaiah 60:19). Whereas in the prophecy of Micah about Israel we find: "When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me" (Micah 7:8).
God's light is fully incarnated in His Word who "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14), Jesus Christ. Now Jesus, using the divine formula I am attributed only to God in the Old Testament, openly declared: "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (John 9:5). No other religious man or woman of any world religion ever affirmed this truth about himself or herself. Only Jesus did. Furthermore, when speaking about Jesus, the gospel of John's prologue rightly upheld: "In him [Jesus Christ] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:4-5).
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary beautifully explains that Christ's love for us "is a light to our feet, a lantern to our paths. It testifies of Christ. It is to us like the pillar to the Israelites. Listen to that voice which cries, I am the Light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life, John 8:12. Jesus Christ alone, as shown in the Bible, and as the Holy Spirit, in answer to prayer, recommends him to the soul, is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, John 14:6". In him there is the definite fulfilment of what the Old Testament says about God as being the light.
Sweet Jesus, be my only light!
Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
Paola