Today, on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers, we listen to Jesus’ words telling us how we are to be the light of the world. He tells us that we are to let our light shine before other people so that, seeing it, they may give glory to God.
We are used to thinking of Jesus Christ as the Light of the world, but here He tells us that we are the ones whose light must shine and that, in this, we give witness to our faith. We might find this a little daunting and perhaps wonder if we really should draw attention to ourselves.
The truth is that there is only one light, and that is the Light of Christ Himself. We are not called to draw attention to ourselves, but rather, to allow His Light to shine through us. We are called to become transparent to His Light. Just as the cleaner a plane of glass is, the more light it allows through, so the more we become purified from our passions, the more we are able to reflect Christ’s Light. It is not so much a matter of trying to be something that we are not, but rather of allowing ourselves to be purified of all that keeps His Light from shining through.
The closer we come to Christ, the more we become enveloped in His Light. Indeed, we see this in the lives of the saints who themselves became bearers of light. The light that they radiate – and which we are called to be purified by and to radiate – is the Light of Christ Himself.