Tag: Christ is the Light

• Luke 5:17-26: Seek Consolation – Paralysis

  
  

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  Luke 5:17-26: Seek Consolation – Paralysis

  Monday, December 16, 2024

  

  When fear paralyzes us, how do we react? Do we listen for the words whispered in our ears? Get up and start walking.

  When worry saps our strength, why do we shoulder blame that is not ours? Do we turn to the one who can handle all our apprehension? Get up. Take your bedroll and go home.

  When fear paralyzes us, how do we react? Do we believe the healing words of Christ who says: Get up and start walking.

  When anxiety steals our serenity, who among us turns to the Creator for help? Who better to do the impossible? Get up. Take your bedroll and go home.

  When darkness overcomes us, what light do we find? Who else but Jesus the Christ? Get up and start walking. Get up. Take your bedroll and go home.

  When trouble assails us and shatters our calm, do we have the faith to rise, to take up the circumstances that have held us away from God, and to go home.

  When we compare varying versions of these verses, we find healing for all that paralyzes us.

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  Image from: https://www.catholiccompany.com/magazine/lessons-from-the-pool-of-bethesda-do-you-want-to-be-well/

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  December 16, 2024

  anxiety, Christ is the Light, darkness, fear, worry

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• Matthew 3:1-12: Hope in the Desert

  
  

  Matthew 3:1-12: Hope in the Desert

  Friday, August 23, 2024

  A Favorite from September 5, 2007.

  We hear more today about winnowing time and the importance of repentance.

  It is interesting to look at this citation beside today’s Gospel of Luke 4:38-44.  There is a similar theme – Jesus tells us that he comes to proclaim to as many as possible the Good News that redemption is now available to anyone who has faith and is willing to feel sorrow.

  Jesus retires to “a deserted place.”  John the Baptist “appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea.”

  We tend to shy away from the many desert places in our lives, but it is in these deserts that we encounter God most intensely. We ought not fear the emptiness or dryness because the nurturing goodness of God never leaves us alone or without hope. We are never fully in the darkness for there is always a the light of Christ that cannot be held back. From this morning’s prayer in MAGNIFICAT: The bright light of the risen, Jesus Christ, shines to all parts of the earth. Let us walk in his light and follow in his way, that, reflecting his brightness, we may enlighten the eyes of the blind with faith and hope.

  As People of Hope, let us intone this prayer together today.

  Amen.

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  Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Morning.” MAGNIFICAT. 5,9 (2007). Print.  

  Image from: https://pixabay.com/en/landscape-desert-clear-viewsand-692395/

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  August 23, 2024

  Christ is the Light, desert, Luke 4:38-44, People of Hope, repentance

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• Ephesians 5:8-10: Groping Through the Murk

  
  

  Ephesians 5:8-10: Groping Through the Murk

  Thursday, February 22, 2024

  

  In times of trouble, we might turn to scripture.

  For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. (NRSV)

  In times of joy, we might share verses of praise.

  You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord’s people, you are in the light. So you must live like people who belong to the light, for it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth. Try to learn what pleases the Lord. (GNT)

  In times of pain, we might seek Christ in The Word.

  For you used to be darkness; but now, united with the Lord, you are light. Live like children of light, for the fruit of the light is in every kind of goodness, rightness and truth — try to determine what will please the Lord. (CJB)

  In times of anxiety, we might flounder through our days in the Spirit.

  You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it. (MSG)

  In times of doubt, we know that God’s word is a light in the darkness.

  In the past you were full of darkness, but now you are full of light in the Lord. So live like children who belong to the light. Light brings every kind of goodness, right living, and truth. Try to learn what pleases the Lord. (NCV)

  In times of celebration, we know that Christ’s light has brought us through the murky confusion of this life, always showing us The Way to an eternity of peace.

  When we compare varying translations, we begin to see that the obstacles in our lives are the stepping-stones that lead us through the murk and into the light that is Christ.

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  For more photographs by Erickson, click on the image above or visit: http://ericksonphotography.net/?p=130 and http://consultgiana.com/navigating-change-walking-on-stepping-stones-in-dense-fog/

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  February 22, 2024

  Christ is the Light, dark versus light, The Way

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• Judges 17: As We Are – Part III

  
  

  Judges 17: As We Are – Part III

  Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 18, 2022

  

  In this time of Advent, as we expect the coming of light and truth, we reflect on the gift of life that comes to us in the innocence of a child.

  As we are . . . We come to the crèche to adore as the lowly shepherds came. The poorest, the marginalized, the abandoned and neglected. We bring our worries and anxieties . . . just as we are.

  As we are . . . We come to the stable as the Magi came. The wise, the enlightened, the privileged and comfortable. We bring our hopes and our fears . . . just as we are.

  As we are . . . We come to the Christ child as people for millennia have come. The troubled, the peaceful, the miserable, the joyful. We bring our dreams and plans . . . just as we are.

  

  As we are . . . We come to Christ as our families and colleagues, our friends and enemies come. We come to Christ’s beauty and innocence and we are either closed or open. We come to life in Christ, and Christ accepts us . . . just as we are. We give thanks for God’s great generosity today.

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  To listen to the Radiolab podcast on Normalcy today to consider how the norms we adopt open or close us to hear God’s voice, visit: http://www.radiolab.org/story/91693-new-normal/

  To reflect on how we come to the Christ child this Advent, click on the images above and study Maíno’s paintings in detail The Adoration of the Shepherds and The Adoration of the Magi, or visit: https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/adoration-of-the-shepherds/103e1807-2917-4906-87ce-71a3a027f37e?searchid=f9f31297-8ba6-6a71-c8f9-8e467d5eb988 and https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-adoration-of-the-magi/3f1f4d63-0476-4ac0-904f-776713defe78?searchid=9245f6a4-fab5-7ba0-23b9-1181d542b32c 

   

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  December 18, 2022

  Christ Child, Christ is the Light, God’s generosity, innocence, joy, Magi, shepherds, truth

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• Judges 13-16: Light Overcomes the Darkness

  
  

  Friday, November 27, 2020

  

  Judges 13-16

  Light Overcomes the Darkness

  We know the story of Samson and Delilah well. He the child whose birth an angel announces to a barren woman and who is reared with devotion. She a Philistine woman with the power to bewitch and who uses any means to achieve her goal. When we read this familiar story slowly, we will find many twists and turns left out of the abbreviated version we usually hear, and these turnings will give us the opportunity to reflect on the parts of our own lives that might mirror the fortunes and failures of this complicated story.

  We see Samson as the clever solver of riddles who visits harlots, a warrior of incredible strength who wishes to marry outside of his tribe. We see him rise to fame and power and we also see him stumble and fall into a mockery of his former self.

  We watch Delilah enter into Samson’s confidence to exact his secret for a price, using any trick or deception to gain the tightly held information. In her campaign to learn about his power, Delilah says to Samson, How can you say that you love me when you do not confide in me?  She chooses her words well because Samson took her completely into his confidence and told her. 

  There is a part in each of us that identifies with both Samson and Delilah.  There is betrayal, deception, anger and revenge. And there is also a strength and light that persists despite the darkness.

  As we approach the Advent season, a time of year when we celebrate the arrival of a new light into a world of darkness, we will want to prepare ourselves for the gift of truth and openness that Christ brings. With the dawning of this great awakening, let us examine our way of living and resolve to put away any darkness that leads us away from God, and let us welcome the light that is Christ.

  Let us petition God for greater fidelity to our covenant promise to walk with Christ.

  Let us petition God for deeper courage to remain steadfast in Christ.

  Let us petition God for Samson-like strength to choose life that unites and enlightens rather than death that divides and scatters.

  Let us petition God for the light that we know will overcome all darkness, no matter how deep, no matter how intense.

  And let us remain in this light of Christ always, for it is the only power that overcomes the dark.   

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  Adapted from a reflection written on November 25, 2009.

  Image from: https://www.wga.hu/html_m/s/stom/samson.html

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  November 27, 2020

  Christ is the Light, Delilah, fidelity, openness, Samson, truth

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• Proverbs 2:3-10: Ways of Darkness and Light

  
  

  Proverbs 2:3-10: Ways of Darkness and Light

  Thursday, August 29, 2019

  Proverbs 2:10-13 – Wisdom will enter your heart.  Discretion will watch over you, saving you from the way of evil men, from men of perverse speech, who leave the straight paths to walk in ways of darkness.

  God says: The world is really not a black versus white place.  It is mostly gray.  When I ask you to live in the light I want you to know the joy I have in mind for you.  As I move among you in the person of Jesus I hope to carry you along with me into the light.  I ask you to open your heart to me so that I might send Spirit to abide with you eternally.  I do not want to control you.  I want to love you. I hope to transfigure you.  I want you to be comfortable in the blinding whiteness of truth and light . . . for that is where I live.

  Seeing life as a series of “either/or” decisions negates God’s ability and desire to forgive.

  Living life in a “yes/no” manner closes the many doors Jesus opens for us.

  Acting in a “love/hate” way takes us down the many ways of darkness . . . and rejects the one Way of Light . . . Christ.

  Type the world light into the blog search box and choose a reflection that will call you to the Way of Light, or click on the image above for a reflection on Christ as the Light of the World.

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  A re-post from August 8, 2012.

  Image from: http://mayheincrease.com/2011/03/light-in-the-darkness/

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  August 29, 2019

  black and white, Christ is the Light, dualism, truth

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