+ We have just come from the Christmas Season – where
Jesus is revealed and proclaimed as the True
Light of the World. The darkness of sin and all of its ramifications was
rampant; only those who held on to the hope given them by the faith of Abraham
could even survive the centuries of waiting for the arrival of the true Messiah,
the true Redeemer, the true Light for all Nations: Jesus Christ!
And
now that he has come, and the darkness is indeed shattered for
those who want it to be: there is still work to be done: for many deliberately
choose to remain in the darkness, to think it does not apply to them, to “take
their chances” with their eternal placement, to almost in a sense to “dare God”
to treat them any way other than mercifully after a rebellious and carefree
life. This is not a good thing: God is indeed merciful, but as we stand in the
presence of God when we are judged: it will be we ourselves who will condemn
ourselves for our carelessness, our foolish behaviors, our vincible negligences
– and not God!
And
so Jesus invites us very clearly and deliberately to live out our baptismal calling to be
Light and Salt for the earth; to make a difference wherever we go,
especially as we look out for and take care of one another, and as many in the
world as we can, especially in this day and in this age. We are his hands and
feet and heart now. We must not let him down. Then we can look forward eagerly
to our day of humble reward, for “just doing our Christian duty” of sharing our bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless, clothing the naked when we see them
and not turning our back on our own.
For
when we do these things: we are actually and really doing them
for Jesus himself: and he will be very pleased, and the world will be
transformed!
God
bless you!
No comments:
Post a Comment