5th Sunday

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Last Sunday, we celebrated the feast of Candlemas, the presentation of the Lord in the temple,   when Simeon tells Mary and Joseph that their son will be a light to the nations.  So in honor of Simeon, we always hold the blessing of candles on the feast of the presentation.

I know we've all had candles at home at some point.  Perhaps it's the citronella candle we light in the summer to keep the bugs away, or maybe some of us still have those candles on the dinner table, or maybe when the power goes out, we have candles in the back somewhere to give us a little bit of light at home.  Now when we do light a candle during the day, sometimes, if we take it out in the bright sunlight, we can hardly even tell if it's lit.  The flame almost seems to disappear in the light.  Yet, it's amazing how at night, once it gets completely dark, just how that one tiny little solitary flame, that seemed light nothing in the bright daylight, can light up an entire room.

Today in the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that we are the light of the world.  Sometimes though, at least for most of us, we don't quite feel like we're a whole lot of light.  We can turn on the radio or the TV and hear all sorts of voices screaming at each other.  We look around and see everything around us pulling us in every direction.  Sometimes, I think end up saying to ourselves, with this big of a mess, how can we possibly even be heard.  We look out and we're simply overwhelmed.  What good could I possibly do?  Even if I tried, I'll just get sucked in and not only will I not make any dent, but I'll get lost in the mix.  No matter where I stand, if I take a stand on anything, no matter how I try to fix it, suddenly I'll be the target.  Sometimes, we really do feel like that one candle, in the middle of daylight, with the wind blowing, that can hardly be seen, and we wonder if it were to go out, if anyone would even notice.

Yet, I think for all of us deep down we know that if it were just us, just individuals, if there were nothing more to our faith, it would have died out centuries ago.  Yet it still keeps going.  That tells us something.  Even though we talk about letting our light shine, we realize that deep down, it's not really our light at all, it's the light of Jesus Christ that is within us.  Once we realize that, once we really come to believe that through our Baptism, Jesus Christ really can and does work through each and every one of us, once we realize that the Light of Jesus Christ that Simeon told Mary and Joseph would be a light to all the nations lives inside of us, we realize that it can be much brighter than we could have ever imagined.  When we simply let God be God, and aren't afraid to simply be who we are, a people of God.  When we let the light of Jesus Christ shine through us, we really can be a light that can penetrate the darkness in our world.  Every time we pitch in when we really didn't have to, every time we lend that helping hand, we really are letting the light of Christ shine.

Even as we heard the words of St. Paul today, St. Paul came not with great words, not with great wisdom, but simply brought Jesus Christ with him wherever he went.  It wasn't simply Paul who came to bring people to conversion, but the light of Christ working through Paul.

If we really believe that Jesus Christ can and does work through us, if we spend time with him and really kindle that flame that lives within us, we may not be bright enough by ourselves to stand on the lampstand and give light to the whole world, but Jesus Christ certainly is.  He's proven that to us again, and again, and again, for  over 20 centuries.  So then the question we have to ask ourselves each and every day is simply, do I really believe that the light I received at my own baptism, the light of Christ, really is still inside of me?  Am I willing to encourage that flame, to let it grow, knowing that it's been given to me by God himself…and am I willing to let that light shine before the people around me, shedding light on a dark world.  Jesus really is the light of the world, but he lives within us, and he needs us to let that light shine.  Do we let our light shine for the whole world to see?

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