by Lito Roldan
God has always been associated with light. Before He created the world, there was no life. It was a swirling mass of darkness and confusion. And God created light and saw it was good. God must have been enamored by light that He called the leader of the angels Lucifer-the bearer of light. In paradise, there was so much light that death and suffering were unknown. Yet the great irony of the creation took place when the bearer of light-Lucifer whose unbridled pride in his beauty and power- nurtured in him the desire to equal, if not surpass, his Creator. Lucifer, the bearer of light, plunged paradise into darkness, causing the fall of the first man and woman and forever tainting humankind with their disobedience.
From the fall, the history of man’s salvation was a quest for deliverance that lasted for thousands of years. From Abraham to Moses, from David and the kings, from the judges to the prophets, the chosen people searched for a God who was jealous and vindictive-appearing as a burning bush, sending angels of death, destroying entire cities, throwing the enemies of his people to their watery graves. The chosen people roamed the desert, waged countless battles against their enemies, were enslaved by their captors and fought countless wars for freedom. Years of aimless wandering in the desert was darkness. Countless struggles against aggressors were darkness. Centuries of captivity and slavery were darkness. Till the promised Messiah, the Son of Man, came and delivered his people from darkness.
The coming of Jesus was accompanied by light-both literally and figuratively. John’s birth to a woman way past her age snuffed the sense of hearing from Zechariah when he doubted. Zechariah, nonetheless prophesied about the Messiah: “He would shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”(Luke 1:79) Blinding light occasioned the angel Gabriel’s announcement of John’s and Jesus’ births. The heavens shone as the angels blew their trumpets rejoicing in Jesus’ birth. The eastern star guided the three wise men in search of the infant Jesus. The light of God filled the place as He bore witness to Jesus saying, “This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased.” At the transfiguration as witnessed by the apostles Peter, James and John whom Jesus brought to a high mountain-“There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light.” (Matthew 17: 2) Moreover in the gospel of Mathew two blind men shouted to Jesus as He was passing by. “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us.” Jesus stopped and asked what He wanted Him to do for them. “Lord, we want our sight.” Jesus took pity on them, touched their eyes and immediately their sight was restored. (20:29-34). As Jesus hanged on the cross dying, one of the crucified thieves acknowledged Him as the Son of God prompting him to implore: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” To which Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23: 42-43). Paul persecuted the Jews and he was blinded, but God restored his sight when he found the light of truth and became a follower of Jesus.
John 1:15 said “ Jesus is the light that darkness cannot overcome.”(John 1:15) Again in John 3: 19-21 he wrote: “This is the verdict. Light has come into this world, but man loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” For His ministry, Jesus was persecuted and condemned to death; but the light of truth he had started was kept lit by the apostles who like Jesus were hounded, jailed and put to death. Yet the teachings of Jesus endured through the centuries. The tyrants in history from the barbarians of the Dark Ages who burned monasteries and manuscripts, to the Mongols and the Mohammedans who attempted but failed to conquer the Christian nations of Europe, to the Great Schism that split the Catholic Church, to the Nazis of Hitler who sent thousands of Jews to the Holocaust, to contemporary religious wars that have divided nations and peoples-all these have failed to extinguish Christianity. Indeed Jesus is the light that darkness cannot and will not overcome.
But many continue to walk in darkness and allow evil-the Prince of Darkness-to rule their lives. They who obsessively conform to the patterns of the world choose to be afflicted with spiritual blindness. And without the Light of Jesus, their hearts continue to harbor resentment, their hardened hearts can not forgive; their hearts are rent with hatred, peace becomes elusive in their lives; bloated egos make them blind to the needs of others. For they hate light and will not come to light.
When we were baptized with water and the Spirit, we were born to eternal life. We received the Light of Jesus and were brought out of darkness. “There was a time when you were in darkness but now you are light in the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:8) And having received the Light, we were inducted into the Great Commission-to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. For those who have accepted Jesus in their lives, He says to them: “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light up a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
Jesus himself said, “I am the Light of the World; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12). Jesus is the Light of the world; let us let His light shine on our way till we have found the truth. Finally, let me sum up this piece with a short poem:
Source of light, bearer of light
Who banished chaos and darkness
In a universe reeling in the abyss of pride
And consigned to oblivion worldly dominions
Rewriting history to the day that none
But the light of his majesty shall reign.
