2 Chr 36:14-16,
19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21
Tiny subterranean termites are daylight avoiding pests that are literally causing billions of dollars in property damage around the world. They are virtually impossible to control with any approved pesticide. An interesting fact about them is that they cannot tolerate light. They prefer to do their insidious work in complete darkness. If workers chew through to the outside of a piece of wood and light enters, they will fill in the hole
with dirt brought from their nesting area in the ground. They also use dirt to build tunnels up the foundations and support pillars of wood frame buildings so they can pass back and forth in darkness. Darkness is their favourite companion, where their destructive activities are carried out. It is true of the human world too. Once one becomes a constant companion of darkness he will develop an irresistible repulsion to light.Most of the planet's oceans are very dark. At a depth of 150 meters (approx. 500 feet), there is little if any light left, and colours are no longer visible to the human eye. The deepest part of the ocean is called the abyssal zone. It is host to thousands of species of invertebrates and fish including such oddities as the Angler Fish. But these animals cannot survive in sunlight, which they are not used to.
In today's gospel John says "The light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light." The chronicles in the first reading says the same thing about the chosen people long ago: "But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His warnings, and scoffed at His prophet." The Second Book of Chronicles describes the history of the period from the reign of Israel's first king, Saul, (1030 BC), to the end of Judah's exile in Babylon (550 BC). People's infidelities caused them to lose the Temple and their homeland, but God arranged, through the king of Persia, to return them to their homeland and to help them rebuild His Temple there. This short, sad summary with a hopeful ending is told from the viewpoint of a conviction that right worship will restore a people.
What God demands from each one of us is our acceptance that we have strayed away from the ways of God, and our readiness to correct the mistake.
One day, King Frederick II, King of Prussia, visited a prison in Berlin. The inmates jumped at the opportunity to plead their cases directly to the king. One prisoner sat quietly in the corner. This aroused the king's curiosity. The king approached the man in the corner. "What are you in for?" he asked. "Armed robbery, your honour." The king asked, "Are you guilty?" "Yes sir," he answered. "I entirely deserve my punishment." The king then gave orders to the guard: "Release this guilty man. I don't want him corrupting all these innocent people."
Only when we admit
our guilt, it can be washed away. One of the greatest promises of scripture is:
"If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and to forgive our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9) Repentance is
the first step toward new birth mentioned in today's gospel. That is the only
means to leave the ways of darkness and to walk in the path of light.
The man who reacts in
hostility to Jesus loves the darkness rather than the light. When we
compare ourselves with good people, we will be able to see our limitations.
Alcibiades was a companion of Socrates, and every now and then he used to break
out: "Socrates, I hate you, for every time I meet you, you let me see what
I am." The man who is engaged on an evil task does not want any
light shed on him; but the man engaged in honourable task welcomes
the light.
Once an architect approached Plato and offered to build a house into none of whose rooms it would be possible to see. Plato Said, “I will give you double the money to build a house into whose every room everyone can see." It is only the evil does who does not wish to see him and who does not wish anyone else to see him. When we are able to accept Jesus as our light, it will change our lives.
First of all, it will give us peace with God. When Adam disobeyed the commands of God, he fled from Him. When Cain raised his hands against his brother, he ran away to a distant land, fearing God, when kings of Israel indulged in idolatry, they avoided the presence of the prophets, who brought God's message. So, Jesus invites us to overcome this estrangement. He wants us to find God as a loving father, and to be at home.
Secondly, it will give us peace with men. If we have been forgiven we must be forgiving. It enables us to see men as God sees them. It makes us and all men into one great family joined in love. It is the only answer to the unrest that we see in our society, in our nation and in the world at large.
Finally, it will give us peace with ourselves. In the last analysis a man is more afraid of himself than of anything else. We know our own weakness; we know the force of our own temptations; we know our own tasks and the demands of our own life. Therefore, we try to avoid a confrontation with us. Many people find short cuts to escape from themselves. But, they are all momentary. The only lasting solution for this is to accept Jesus as our guide, and amend our ways. Make a decision that we don't do anything that we don't dare to do in public. This is a little step that we can take in this season of lent to make us sons and daughters of light.
Let us always remember these words:
"Everybody who does wrong
Hates the light and avoids it,
For fear his actions should be
exposed;
But the man who lives by
the truth
Comes out into the light,
So that it may be plainly
seen that what he does
Is done in God."