Fourth Sunday of Lent
Quit That Site; Quit That Sight
Just one month ago, we all had the experience of living in darkness due to the power grid outage! It wasn’t a choice; we were subjected to it. This was physical darkness, something we endured. How did we handle it? How did we change as a result of that experience? The slogan of The Christopher’s is “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” We certainly lit many candles. Amazing Grace, a very popular song, repeats the refrain, “I once was blind, but now I see.” Perhaps we had tangible experiences of seeing many things in a different way. Certainly, we learned of the plight of many of our brothers and sisters in the city who experience utility insecurity on a daily basis. Our St. Vincent de Paul volunteers hear the stories of many of our brothers and sisters who live in constant fear of having their “lights cut off.”
Darkness is not something that we seek, unless we are suffering from a migraine headache. But darkness does provide an opportunity for many things to “come to light.”
Those of us who are part of the learning community called “Adult Faith Formation” recently viewed Bishop Robert Barron’s talk given at the virtual LA Religious Education Conference. He named social media as one opportunity we are given to choose light over darkness. In his talk, he challenged us to post the gifts of the Holy Spirit next to our viewing screen. If the site we are visiting, Facebook, Netflix, cable TV, or anything we are viewing, doesn’t bring us joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, or gentleness, he suggests that we quit that site. If we are experiencing conflict, anger, jealousy, hatred, dishonesty, divisiveness, untruthfulness, and selfishness among other “works of the flesh,” we probably have confirmation of the need to quit that site. We need to take it out of our sight!
In the Gospel of John for this weekend, we read: “…. The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”
May this season of Lent be a time when we recognize increasingly what it means to choose to live in the Light of Christ. Merciful God, give us the courage to do so each day!