Lent - Day Thirty One - Light

Jesus said to the Pharisees:

‘I am the light of the world;

anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark; he will have the light of life.’

If you think that sand is bad, walking on salt is probably worse.  It is easier, but the dust stings and the white color of the ground reflects the sun back into your eyes.  If you are not wearing your sunglasses, you can close your eyes and still seemingly see the ground. The light is blinding. But, I have to admit that hearing the crunch of the sand-encrusted ground is much better than sinking into the shifting sands of the desert.  The going is easier. The mountains that represent our way into Israel and civilization are getting closer day by day so soon we can soak our feet is a cold mountain stream and enjoy the breezes from the windward side of the mountains. Dinner was a treat for us today.  The cook slaughtered one of the goats that he brought with him and he cooked it with spices and I do not know what was better the fragrance of the cooking meat or the flavor of it which overpowered the senses when compared with the mundane food we were usually served.  He also made fresh unleavened bread which we used to put the meat and roasted vegetables and make sort of a roll-up.  Here is what the Master said today after we ate.  He was in a good mood even though he touched very little food and drank water instead of the wine. 

"Brothers, Jesus said, "I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark; he will have the light of life."   In the time of Hannibal, who was a military genius, he did what no one had tried before.  He crossed the mountains with his army.  The Romans knew him and his army was coming.  There was a morale problem as the citizens of  Rome worried about what was going to happen to them. The priests of the various gods were asked by the Senate what they should do about it.  The priests met in a conclave and came up with this idea.  The twelve major gods of Rome were being ignored by the populace and that is why the fortunes of war were turning against them.  They recommended that statues of all twelve gods be placed in the center of town, a sort of meeting of the gods, and that would give the populace courage.  Time was of the essence and to sculpt twelve gods in the tame available was impossible so the Senate commissioned busts of the twelve gods to be carved with them in pairs seemingly on a pillow.  This was done and it seemed to work.  The people believed that the gods were having a war council to plan the defeat of Hannibal.  The Roman Legion defeated the general who had to flee for his life.  The people credited not the Legion but the gods for the victory.  

"Have you ever noticed that the eyes of most statues of Buddha are closed?  Why is that?  For followers of the Buddha, light is the same as darkness and darkness is the same as light.  The physical aspects of light or darkness have no meaning so showing him with his eyes closed or open was the same. In their thought, contemplation of light brought mystic powers to them but Buddha did not bring the light to them, it was a simple physical manifestation that he and his followers used to aid meditation." 

"Mohammed never said he was light or the light only that he brought the light through his prophecy and through the Koran, which is their holy book. So, Mohammed by his own admission was not the light he just delivered it." 

"Jesus, the Christ of God said of Himself that He was the Light of the world.  He brought light to the spiritual darkness that infests the world. He himself glowed with the Light of God and in His words and deeds, he manifested the greatness of His Father for all to see!  I beg of you, read His word and hear for yourself the Word of Life that He has brought into the world.  Do not absent yourself for minor reasons from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, for in it, you will receive not only light but in the Eucharist, you will receive the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus into your own body!  You will be united with Him and be as close to heaven as you can this side of the divide between Earth and Heaven. Our Lord wants to be close to you.  Even though he knows you better than you know yourself, He wants you to share your life with Him and do not restrict it to big ticket items like whether you should marry this one or that one, no, ask His help on how to talk to your customer on the phone.  Tell Him you are concerned about your health. Share your laughter and your tears with Him.  This is what He wants and what He gave us the Eucharist for.  But don't keep Him in a box, trotting Him out once a week on Sunday and then putting Him back in the box for another week.  He wants to be a part of your life.  Embrace Him as if you were standing next to Him and He has His arms open waiting for you.  Cry on His shoulder and laugh in His ear.  Be a friend that shares everything and when your time to die comes, Jesus Himself, will take you by the hand and lead you to the Father." 

The master sat down.  I was quivering with excitement at his words.  The light of Christ, hand-carried and instilled in my personally by Himself flooded my heart and I adjourned to my tent rapt in prayer.  For the very first time, I understood who Jesus is and I approached Him as a friend.