Inspirations at your Fingertips!

Tuesday of week 22 in Ordinary Time Luke 4:31-37 This day, Jesus manifested his authority over the evil one.  In the first reading, St. Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to live in the light.  What does "light" mean? Light, in contrast with darkness, simply gives us the power to see.  Light is an array of color while darkness implies the absence of it. Light is attributed to God who is the only source of light; while any absence of it is from the evil one who destroys anything that comes to be.  Anyone who treats things as light other than God is not worthy of His love. Light is reflected in the conduct of Christians, both inwardly and outwardly.  Inwardly, it entails purity of heart patterned after the very heart of God.  Outwardly, they manifest God's power and majesty.  Our Christian dispositions are reflected in what lies in our hearts and manifests and in our actions.

light Luke 2:22-35 Let's focus on the light.  According to a common dictionary, light either refers to that which makes things visible.  Materially speaking, we are referring to the light bulbs as examples of light sources.  Another definition is what is happening inside the human disposition: an understanding of a problem or mystery. What John is referring to as light? Jesus himself is the light of life.  So, if anyone is not living according to the light of Christ, he is in darkness, especially when he hates his brother / sister. In the gospel, Simeon also talks about the light whom he can now see and he can now rest.  But the second one is this: through Jesus, all actions would be laid bare.  He will always be a sign of contradiction for many.  And that all thoughts may be laid bare. Thus, we are talking of two lights: one that refers to Jesus, and another that lays bare the secret longings of the heart whether we are for or against Christ...

Yes! Matthew 5:13-16  Jesus always said yes to the Father.  In the gospel, Jesus reminds us of becoming salt of the earth and light of the world. I hope we can be fully convinced and finally give our unconditional "yes" to the Father. Let us remove all doubts as regards following the Lord.  His will is definitely better than our own.  He promises fruitfulness of graces for us and others.  Thirdly, the things of this world will reflect the grandeur and greatness of God if all people follow Him. Let us remember Jesus' words for those who say yes to God - they are the salt of the earth, filled with flavor. They are the light of the world where everything has color and can be seen. The Christian can give life to the lifeless, can give color, and of course, direction and meaning to life.

"Who will resist the day of His coming? Who will remain standing when he appears?" (Malachi, 3:1-4) The reading tells us of the immense power of  Jesus.  Like the power of fire, he will purify us. The Feast of the Presentation should give us an insight of the Light who is Christ himself.  Do not belittle that light.  Make sure the light is shining brightly. Unveil all the potentials of the Christian faith.  We are Christian soldiers; let us not be cold in our faith.  Reach out to all people through this light; expand to the next generation the presence of God.  What we sow today, we shall reap tomorrow.  The future of our children and our children's children will depend on how we live out our faith today.

Being "light" for others entails that we start reflecting Christ's light, no more, no less. It is only the light of Christ that brings brightness and color to people's lives. But how much of Christ do we know? Is our knowledge of Him sufficient to bring the light to others? We need to spend a significant amount of time, talent, and treasure just to know him. We need to know his ways, his words and teachings. Then we need to inculcate them and value them in our hearts. Have we allotted enough time to get to know the teachings of the Lord? Do we live them out? Finally, we have to commit ourselves to be light to others. Through acts of love specially to the needy, Christ's actions become our own. May we immerse ourselves in the sea of this love.