by Father Alonzo Cox
I have had issues with my eyesight almost all of my life. As a kid in school, I had difficulty seeing the writing on the blackboard. After a visit to the optometrist, I was told I needed glasses. As I got older, unfortunately, the prescription for my glasses increased. A few years later, I was told that I needed to have a procedure done on my eyes to correct the issues that I was facing with my eyesight.
I was assured that it would be nothing extreme or intrusive, but that I would not be able to drive and that I would need to wear dark sunglasses for at least 24 hours, as my eyes would be sensitive to light. After having the procedure, I remember sitting in the back of the car, with my sunglasses on, missing the beauty of light.
When I got home, I sat in my room, with the window shades drawn, lights off, and my sunglasses on. I was sitting in complete darkness.
Throughout that day, I was yearning to see some sort of light. I was experiencing a feeling of hopelessness and fear, all related to the fact that I could not see light. We are reminded in today’s Gospel that we are the light of the world! When I finally took off the sunglasses and opened the window shades, joy illuminated the light I had been missing over the past 24 hours. Jesus tells us that we are called to be a light, shining not just through the darkness of this world but also for others.
As disciples of the Lord, we are called to shine before others, not to bring glory to ourselves, but so that others will be able to see the glory of God. Light brings hope to those who are hopeless. Light brings joy to those who feel lost or abandoned. We must never allow the light of Christ that resonates within us to be extinguished. That light must shine for all the world to see.
To truly be a disciple of the Lord, filled with his light, we must live lives of holiness and service to one another. Our first reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah tells us that we must share bread with the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless. It is the light of Christ that strengthens our hearts to be at service to our brothers and sisters in need. We are at service to others because of the reality that all of creation is holy since we are all created in the image and likeness of God. When we give ourselves in service to one another, we are truly serving God.
The love of Christ is meant to be transformative. As we encounter Christ within our community, we are meant to be radically transformed by his love for us and others. The light, love, and mercy of Christ must resonate through us, his witnesses here on earth. Our mission is to share that transformative love with all of God’s holy people. We do that, first and foremost, by the example of our lives. When our brothers and sisters encounter us, they must also encounter Christ, whose light lives through us. St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians that we must proclaim the good news not just with pervasive words, but with a demonstration of spirit and power. The spirit of God drives us each day to continue the mission of proclaiming Jesus as the light of the world.
May the Holy Spirit move us to tend to the needs of those who are yearning for the light of Christ in their lives.
We pray that the light of Christ will forever dispel the darkness of this world, that we will bask in the glory of our savior, Jesus Christ.
Father Alonzo Cox is pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and coordinator for the Vicariate of Black Catholic Concerns for the Diocese of Brooklyn.