Monday after
Epiphany
(I John 3:22-4:6; Matthew 4:12-17.23-25)
One of the great corporations in our city sponsors a
festival of lights during the Christmas holidays. It invites the public to its production
center adorned with colored LED lights. The
lights do not dispel the darkness as much as they take advantage of it. Because of the darkness the brilliance of the
many lights is revealed. In a similar way
the darkness of the human conditioned allows the light of Jesus to be manifested.
The Gospel of Matthew sees Isaiah’s prophecy of a great
light in Galilee fulfilled in Jesus. His
ministry enkindles hope in people beset with the glum of misery. Today’s passage shows him healing the pained,
the possessed, the disturbed, and the paralyzed. Jesus’ preaching further urges those ensconced
in the darkness of sin to repent. Coming
out into the gentle glow of God’s mercy gives them freedom and joy.
We have begun a new year.
It is time for us to start over in the quest for virtue. We must rid ourselves of thoughts that belittle
others. We need to let go of our fears
so that we might affirm those around us.
