The Gospel, according to John (12:44-50)
Jesus cried out and said,
“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me
but also in the one who sent me,
and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me.
I came into the world as light,
so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.
And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them,
I do not condemn him,
for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.
Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words
has something to judge him: the word that I spoke,
it will condemn him on the last day,
because I did not speak on my own,
but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak.
And I know that his commandment is eternal life.
So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”
REFLECTION: The verse, that resonates the most with me in today’s Gospel, is Verse 46: “I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness.”
As a child, I did not like the dark. I would leave the light on in my bedroom, when I would go to sleep. Later, one of my parents would always come by to turn it off, before they went to sleep. Eventually, my parents installed a night-light and with the light, I could see everything in my room, and nothing to be afraid of – I felt safe. As a child, I also did not like going out to take the trash, after dark, because the trash cans were way out in the backyard, and the yard light did not reach there. I would often find myself, running to and from the trash cans, in fear, because I could not see what was around me – I was afraid of what I could not see.
Without Jesus, we too are in the dark. We may feel scared, in being alone, and not know what is around us, or what is coming. With darkness, comes fear, because we do not know what is going on. In the dark we stumble, for we cannot see our way, or do the things we normally do.
Jesus came to light up our world, to bring us out of darkness. With His light He gave us the ability to see everything. Jesus’ light, leads to understanding and enlightenment. It leads to hope, direction, and truth. At our Baptism we received the Light of Christ, for us to be light to the world, the light of God, a caring light, caring for humanity, caring for creation.
In my visits to the incarcerated, youth and adults, before I go their Housing Units, I pray to the Lord to use me, and allow the light of God, to shine through me, for all to see.
ACTION FOR THE DAY: Ask our heavenly Father, to lead you to places, where you can be His light to others, just like Jesus is light to the world. To do so, you need to surrender your whole life to God and obey Him completely, by making your words and your actions, pleasing to Him – Jesus depended completely on the Father for His words and actions, so should we.
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