Letting the Light In
“But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”John 3:21
Blessed Fourth Sunday of Lent! On this day the Church implores us to “rejoice;” hence this Sunday of Lent is known as Laetare Sunday from the Latin meaning “to rejoice.” Why does the Church tell us to rejoice during what is supposed to be a solemn, penitential season? Because of that to which we look forward: the Resurrection. In His great love for us, the Father sent His only begotten Son into the world so that while we were still dead in our sin we might be saved. For this, how can we not rejoice? Although our salvation has been won, we must choose to live a life that leads us to it.
Jesus is the Light that has come into this world of darkness so that those who wish to run to the light might be saved. Many people choose to live in the darkness, and by darkness I do not mean the physical darkness that comes at nightfall, but the darkness that clouds our minds and hearts. The darkness seems to be a place of darkness, a place where one can do and say what one would not in the light, in public. A place where immorality and the lure of the world rule. Sometimes we prefer the dark because living in the light becomes difficult. Following the Commandments becomes burdensome. Praying seems useless. It’s just so much easier living in the dark, not having to worry about laws and rules. Life becomes easier not having to stand up for the truth. And once we allow ourselves to get comfortable in the darkness, our lives slowly become less and less conformed to the heart of Jesus. On the surface, it may seem like life becomes so much easier and better, but soon we will experience pain and sorrow because a life apart from God is a life that will slowly turn into emptiness. We might experience some temporary comfort and even pleasure and joy in the darkness, but it will not last. We must allow the Light of Christ to penetrate our hearts.
When we live in the darkness, we allow the enemy to rule our hearts and desires. And we know the tactics of the enemy. First he lures us is, makes us feel good about the things we do and choices we make and then he attacks us and accuses us, making us feel bad for falling into his traps, attacking our faith and and highlighting our infidelity to God. This usually leads us further deeper into the darkness because of our shame and guilt. But, brothers and sisters, at those moments we must turn to God and allow His light to enter into our hearts. We must slowly walk towards the light and leave behind the darkness. It will not be easy at first, but we must keep going. Just as turning on the lights after being in the dark for a movie will make us want to cover our eyes and faces so too will this initial step of walking towards the light. The natural tendency will be to go back into the darkness, but we must go away from it. We must let the light in.
God does not require us to be perfect. He simply needs us to want to return and for us to seek Him. All that is needed is for us to say, “Lord, I want to leave the darkness. Let Your light shine in my darkness.” God will do the rest. It is less about what we have to do, and more about what we allow God to do in and through us. Once we allow the light to enter into our hearts, the other places of darkness will slowly dispel and the enemy will flee. When we see and experience this, how can we not rejoice?
Have you checked out “Return to Me,” a book of Lenten Reflections? If not, I invite you to pray with me using it this week. Each day’s reflection (and other Lenten resources) can be accessed here. Pray with me!
Click below to watch this week’s reflection.
