Hard questions, honest answers

5^th Week of Lent (M)

Fr. Philip Neri Powell OP

St. Albert the Great, Irving

Humans are really good at creating gods. We are also pretty handy when it comes to find and using sources of light in the darkness. Predictably, it never fails that these gods and sources of light perfectly reflect what we think we need or exactly what we want. We are, after all, expert craftsmen of our own divinity. Even those of us who claim to be followers of Christ can – on occasion – erect an altar to a made-up god and offer a desperate sacrifice. So, our Lord reminds us, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” NB. he doesn't say that he's the light of the Church or the light of those with pure intentions or those with no other light available to them. He says that he is the light of the world. The whole world, the whole of creation. The good, the bad, the ugly, everyone, everywhere. Anyone who follows him – in his light – will never walk in darkness. Yet, even with this promise, we still fall into the vice of running after less lights. Going so far at times to invent some artificial light just for our use. What fake lights have you invented to avoid following the light of the world?

Lent calls for hard questions and honest answers. It's a time for us to burn away the fat and fluff and get down to the raw bones of our relationship with Christ. Maybe you like Christ's ethical teachings but not the supernatural stories. Maybe you like the liturgical elements of the faith but not the juridical. The miracles – old and new – keep you attentive but the philosophical and theological stuff seems excessive. Social justice fires your belly but the ancient moral teachings turn you off. In each case, there is a brighter light for you than the light of Christ. There's another light that outshines his light, leaving him in the shadows. A greater part of the work of Lent is the work of switching off any lights that compete with the light of Christ. Switch off each in turn until you are left with the light of sacrificial love, the light that demands everything of you and everything from you. He emptied himself to die on a cross. That's where his light will take us if we follow him. As scary as that is, it's the path we've chosen. It's the path we've vowed to walk and bear witness to. Only the light of his sacrifice can push back the dark and show us the way.