Verbum Dei UK

Isaiah 49:3,5-6 ; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 ; Jn 1:29-34

MEDITATION:

This Sunday is about the fact that Christ invites us all to play a role in bringing light to this dark world.

The Gospel is of John the Baptist pointing to Jesus. If one pictured all the prophecy of the Old Testament as a slowly rising mountain, then John would be like the summit. The Old Testament is there as a way of leading us up to the New. The first reading is of the call of Isaiah to help bring God's light to the ends of the earth. The second is of Paul introducing himself to the Corinthians as a messenger sent by Christ.

 

One may wonder why didn't John simply remain with Jesus after the encounter at the Jordan river, rather than coming across him the next day by chance, and I suppose the answer is that it wasn't by chance. John never left Christ, but he lived that way of life in which the company of Christ is more than a physical one. John says that he had been sent to baptize with water and had been told that Christ would appear, and that's telling us of the fact that the Trinity reveal things in a personal way... in a way that's not explained by physical sound waves. That's why we spend time in prayer. Centuries after the incarnation of Christ, all of us can live as his companions!

Are you keen to accompany Christ? You can then point Him out to people like the finger of the Baptist. Some people may think that faith in Christ isn't of major importance in our world - it won't build up your muscles or the size of your house or cure a cancer, but we call Jesus the 'light of the world' for good reason. He enables us to see and understand our lives -where we come from- where we're going -and how to get there well. Turning the light on in a dark room will not alter the contents of the room, but it certainly improves how we can move about and live in the room.

The call to the prophet today ("I will make you a light to the nations" (Isaiah 49:6 ), is a prophecy of 'the Sun which rises from on high' in Christ's incarnation many years afterwards. He doesn't turn on a light switch -He takes away the sin of the world- and it's our sin which darkens things for us and can give us a real 'headache'. We're sanctified in Christ (1 Cor 1:2 ) - not as onlookers applauding Him from the outside but as participants within Him. We can reflect Him. That's a part worth playing. And He wants to take the darkness away for us all - not for a 'chosen few' but for all mankind (as stressed in Isaiah today). So it depends on us all playing our part with effort. At home or in the workplace or at class or at the horse-race - we're in the 'human' race - and if the person beside you needs a 'piggy-back', he's not heavy - he's your brother. We're not called to be the 'light of the world' but to be mirrors (as St Paul puts it). So let's clean  away any dust. In fact, if we just let the light of Christ into our day, He clears away our dust and we can reflect his love for everyone.

There are times when life is tough and hope is low, but they're just phases through which we pass. The living testimony of faith in others around me and in the lives of the saints, has been a light for me and all of our lives can join that chain. Let's take communion at mass today with a heart that wants to join it! I'm a sinner, and so are you, as we all admit at the beginning of mass, but that's a humble opening of the door so that what Paul says can come true: 'you have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, with all those who call upon his name' (1 Cor 1:2 ).

As Paul calls us to be sanctified, one may think that the saints were extraordinary people, but they should really be seen as the normal ones! They're simply unconventional in the sense that they don't follow the selfish ways of the world. As we read of John pointing to Christ for us, let's not play the waiting game. Our physical lives flash by! Therése of Lisieux is patroness of the missions and she died aged 24. Francis Xavier is the male patron and he died aged 46! Frederick Ozanam, founder of the society of Vincent de Paul (social work), died in 1853 at the age of 40, but by that time, more than 1,500 conferences had been established in four continents.

Our lives are a gift from God, so let's use them as best we can in bringing light to this dark world.

.......Dara.

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