Dear Friend, Normally we welcome the light. This is especially so in moments when the light has gone out. When electricity fails we feel helpless and wait for the lights to come on. People who are sick or cannot sleep at night wait eagerly for the first light of dawn. For people who are trapped in darkness due to a sudden disaster, the first spark of light brings hope. Do we wait for the light of Christ to come into our lives? Have we felt the urge to share the light of Christ’s love with those who have not experienced His light? May His Word challenge us! Have an enlightened weekend! –Fr. Jude Sun Ref. Third Sunday: ‘He called them and leaving everything they followed him!’ 22-Jan-2017 Isaiah 8: 23-9: 3; 1 Cor.: 1: 10-13, 17; Matt. 4: 12-23;
This passage from Isaiah was written to give hope to the Israelites in spite of the depressing situation that confronted them. The people were in bondage and Isaiah speaks of their release from bondage and the troubles that don’t seem to end. The surrounding kingdoms oppressed them but Isaiah assures them that deliverance is at hand. They can rest assured of God’s help: the darkness in their lives will give way to light; pain to joy; and yokes and rods of slavery will be done away with. Lead Kindly LightA young man who later became a Cardinal was returning by sea from Italy to his native England. While the boat was detained in Sicily, young Newman fell ill and nearly died. During his convalescence, he wrote these words: “Lead kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,” because he believed that the prophecy of Isaiah had come true: “The people who walked in the darkness have seen a great light.” We too have our hours of darkness. The death of a lifelong spouse, an unexpected rejection by a loved one, a smashed dream of business success or the loss of good health can throw us into temporary darkness. But in these tragic moments true believers have in the past seen the light of Christ, a light that illumines the shadows of our hearts with the radiance of his splendour, guiding us to travel safely over the tempestuous sea of life.Vima Dasan in ‘His Word Lives’ In today’s gospel Matthew begins the mission of Jesus Christ to show that Jesus took over the preaching of John the Baptist after he had been arrested and preached the call to repentance, because the Kingdom of God was close at hand. Jesus showed by his preaching and by his deeds that he brought healing, pardon and freedom to those who were in bondage. The call to repentance is not so much about doing penance but turning towards God, so that we might see His goodness and experience his mercy. Normally light is something that we welcome, but sometimes we are afraid of what the light might reveal. The latter part of today’s gospel speaks of Jesus calling disciples to follow him. He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets and he said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Later he saw another pair of brothers, James and John sons of Zebedee who were in their boat and he called them and leaving their boat they followed him. Jesus has not stopped calling people. Jesus went about preaching and healing people and we are called to do the same. We will accomplish this mission in the measure that we let the light of Christ shine brightly in our lives. The Light in the DarknessA woman invited a priest to bless her house. As he performed the blessing, she escorted him around the house. He noticed that everything was immaculate, banisters polished, beds neatly made, not a thing out of place, not a cobweb or speck of dust in sight. He sprinkled every room with holy water, and they prayed as they went along. Even the two fat cats asleep on the sofa were not spared. He splashed them with water, and one of them jumped up. So the blessing disturbed something in this neat and orderly house. They blessed the living room, the ‘den’, the kitchen, the laundry room, the bath room, the bedrooms. As it happened they finished up at the top of the stairs that led down into the basement. Seeing the priest hesitate there the woman said, “Oh you wouldn’t want to go down there.” So they left it at that. But afterwards he wondered why she had refused to take him to that part of the house that most needed a blessing. Was it that she didn’t want to embarrass him by taking him down there? Or was it that she didn’t want to embarrass herself by letting him see all the junk piled down there? -How typical this is. The parts of ourselves and of our society which most need to be redeemed are the parts we tend to hide. For this reason, we don’t want the light to shine into the dark areas of our lives and of our society. Instead we try to cover them up and hide them away. Yet the dark areas are the ones that have most need of the light.Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies “The Light she lit is still burning!”Mother Teresa gives us a beautiful example of a man who was brought out of darkness into the light. One day in Melbourne, Australia, she visited a poor man whom nobody knew existed. The room in which he was living was in a terrible state of untidiness and neglect. There was no light in the room. The man hardly ever opened the blinds He hadn’t had a friend in the world. She started to clean and tidy the room. At first he protested, saying, “Leave it alone. It’s all right as it is.” But she went ahead anyway. Under a pile of rubbish, she found a beautiful oil lamp but it was covered with dirt. She cleaned and polished it. Then she asked him, “How come you never light the lamp?” “Why should I light it?” he replied. “No one ever comes to see me. I never see anybody.” “Will you promise to light it if one of my sisters comes to see you?” “Yes,” he replied. “If I hear a human voice I’ll light the lamp.” Two of Mother Teresa’s nuns began to visit him on a regular basis. Things gradually improved for him. Then one day he said to the nuns, “Sisters, I’ll be able to manage on my own from now on. But do me a favour. Tell that first sister, who came to see me, that the light she lit in my life is still burning.”Flor McCarthy in New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies The Arrival of the LightSome Alpine valleys are so deep that the rays of the sun do not reach them at all for days or even weeks in the middle of winter. A priest who ministered in one of these valleys tells the following story. One day in the depths of winter he was in the classroom of the local school chatting with the children, who hadn’t seen the sun for nine days. Then all of a sudden a ray of sunshine shone into the classroom. On seeing it the children climbed and cheered and shouted for sheer joy. It showed that even though the sun may not touch the skin it can still warm the soul. This little incident shows how light is the source of great joy. For sick people the night is usually the hardest time of all. Matthew compares the arrival of Jesus on the scene to the coming of a great light to the people who had been living in deep darkness. Jesus described his mission in simple terms when he said: “I am the light of the world!” We still walk in the bright light Jesus brought into the world. By living in it, we become a source of light to others, a lamp for our steps and a light for their paths.Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies’ The Heart of the EnlightenedThe devotee knelt to be initiated into discipleship. The guru whispered the sacred mantra into his ear, warning him not to reveal it to anyone. “What will happen if I do?” asked the devotee. Said the guru, “Anyone you reveal the mantra to will be liberated from the bondage of ignorance and suffering, but you yourself will be excluded from discipleship and suffer damnation.” No sooner had he heard those words, the devotee rushed to the market place, collected a large crowd around him, and whispered the sacred mantra for all to hear. The disciples later reported this to the guru and demanded that the man be expelled from the monastery for his disobedience. The guru smiled and said, “He has no need of anything I can teach. His action has shown him to be a guru in his own right.”Anthony De mellow in ‘The Heart of the Enlightened’ FishermenIn one of the finest films ever made, The Old Man and the Sea, Spencer Tracy plays the lead role of an aging fisherman. Based on Ernest Hemingway’s novel the movie depicts man’s struggle against insurmountable odds. As the Old Man, Spencer Tracy battles for hours to catch a great fish, only to have it attacked by sharks as he tows it towards shore. He says: “Man is not made for defeat. Man can be destroyed, but not defeated.” Today’s gospel begins with the story of some other fishermen. The fishermen are Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, and two other brothers, James and John. Walking along the shore, Jesus calls them to leave their fishing nets. They immediately abandon their nets and follow him. Why should Jesus choose fishermen as his disciples? It certainly wasn’t for their educational background or their training in Scripture. No, the disciples were probably chosen because they were like the Old Man in Hemingway’s story. Not pious, but good men deep down. Not easily discouraged, but patient and persevering. Not self-indulgent, but hard working. And like the Old Man, they would come to know that through their experience with Jesus, that “man can be destroyed, but not defeated.” Although we may not be fishermen like the first disciples. We too are called by Jesus to live for him, not just earn a livelihood. We are invited to leave behind our old securities and launch out with him onto a larger sea in life. To be fishers of men and women is more than a metaphor. It is a mission from, through and in Christ.Albert Cylwicki in ‘His Word Resounds’ May we radiate His light by our lives! Fr. Jude Botelho [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
