TODAY'S WORD

By


Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore

John: 3:20 "For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed."


TODAY'S REFLECTION

A common security measure in many homes and businesses are strong lights that come on at night when somebody comes within a certain radius and breaks the beam. 

It is based on the presumption that light is the enemy of anyone who might want to break into the premises. 

Those who might be up to no good prefer the cover of darkness.


GOSPEL

In the words of today’s gospel reading, ‘everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, for fear his actions should be exposed’. 

Light exposes wrong doing. In a sense, it condemns the wrong doer. 

According to the gospel reading, God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world. 

Jesus speaks of himself in this gospel as ‘the light of the world’. 

When the gospel reading says that ‘the light has come into the world’, the reference is clearly to Jesus. 

Yet, the light of Jesus is not primarily a condemnatory light whose primary purpose is to expose evil. 

The light of Jesus is a light of love, the light of God who so loved the world that he gave his only Son. 

When we step into this light, there is a sense in which our sins are exposed. To see ourselves in the light of Jesus is to recognize how far we fall short of the person God has created us to be.

Yet, the primary purpose of this loving light is to take away our sin. 

Jesus, the light of God, seeks us draw us to himself so that we may have life and have it to the full. 

The Lord’s light is not in any way threatening. There is a fullness of life there from which we are all invited to receive.


FIRST READING

And this experience of the Immensity of God’s Love impelled them to give witness to Jesus, even in the midst of harsh torture and suffering – so much so, that their persecutors marvelled at their courage and conviction:

“Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!” (Acts 5:25)

The Cross of the Lord invites us today…to be faithful to the salvation won by the Lord, always… to seek the grace to live a life in the light, always… to make efforts to walk the path of truth, always.


RESOLUTION

Let's resolve to love the Cross knowing that it is not an instrument of  condemnation and not for judgement  but an instrument of our salivation and our Hope.

Good Morning.  Have a blessed day.  Let's learn to love the cross knowing that Jesus made it the symbol of our redemption.