Daily Retreat 01/27/08
2008 Jan 27 SUN: THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Is 8: 23 – 9: 3/ Ps 26(27): 1. 4. 13-14 (1a)/ 1 Cor 1: 10-13. 17/ Mt 4: 12-23
From today’s readings: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.... The Lord is my light and my salvation.... Is Christ divided?... Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men. ”
The Light in the Darkness
Winter for the most part is cold, dark, and gloomy. Even if many enjoy skiing and snowmobiling and skating and certain other elements and activities of the season, most of us would readily admit that such wintry perks would be even more appealing without the cold, dark, and gloomy side.
But now imagine a homely hearth with a crackling fire that sticks out its tongue at Old Man Winter - just so does the warmth and joy of Christmas burst out in the midst of the cold dark gloom with those divine tidings: the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen!
To fully appreciate those words, we need to consider life without them. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis wrote about a land cursed with a perpetual winter, and the worst thing about it was that the chilly spell somehow managed to even shut out the warmth and joy of Christmas. Under such icy conditions, surely even a snow-sport enthusiast would start to shiver with despair, and the merriest of lives would be numbed by an unending onslaught of cold, dark, and gloomy days.
Sadly but truly it can be said that our land yet is overshadowed by death: death caused by abortion, terrorism, war, violence, disease, drugs, and despair. Are we cursed with an endless winter of these cold, dark, and gloomy evils that seek to freeze even our cheer of life and warmth of love?
But then comes Christ, the Lion of Judah, and He breathes with a Holy Spirit that is the beginning of the thaw. And even though I suppose He could, He does not do it alone: He calls out to mere fishermen, gestures to common folk such as you and I, and gives the great invitation, "Come after Me!"
Truly, when we follow Him, you and I fill our hearts with the power and joy and fire of His Holy Spirit, but not just to huddle and warm ourselves a bit in the midst of the encircling gloom and chill of a culture of death, but rather, to confidently dispel that darkness, to banish anguish, to share the abundant joy and great rejoicing of those who are entitled and inspired to shout, "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom should fear? The Lord is my life's refuge - of whom should I be afraid?"
Is 8: 23 – 9: 3/ Ps 26(27): 1. 4. 13-14 (1a)/ 1 Cor 1: 10-13. 17/ Mt 4: 12-23
From today’s readings: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.... The Lord is my light and my salvation.... Is Christ divided?... Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men. ”
The Light in the Darkness
Winter for the most part is cold, dark, and gloomy. Even if many enjoy skiing and snowmobiling and skating and certain other elements and activities of the season, most of us would readily admit that such wintry perks would be even more appealing without the cold, dark, and gloomy side.
But now imagine a homely hearth with a crackling fire that sticks out its tongue at Old Man Winter - just so does the warmth and joy of Christmas burst out in the midst of the cold dark gloom with those divine tidings: the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen!
To fully appreciate those words, we need to consider life without them. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis wrote about a land cursed with a perpetual winter, and the worst thing about it was that the chilly spell somehow managed to even shut out the warmth and joy of Christmas. Under such icy conditions, surely even a snow-sport enthusiast would start to shiver with despair, and the merriest of lives would be numbed by an unending onslaught of cold, dark, and gloomy days.
Sadly but truly it can be said that our land yet is overshadowed by death: death caused by abortion, terrorism, war, violence, disease, drugs, and despair. Are we cursed with an endless winter of these cold, dark, and gloomy evils that seek to freeze even our cheer of life and warmth of love?
But then comes Christ, the Lion of Judah, and He breathes with a Holy Spirit that is the beginning of the thaw. And even though I suppose He could, He does not do it alone: He calls out to mere fishermen, gestures to common folk such as you and I, and gives the great invitation, "Come after Me!"
Truly, when we follow Him, you and I fill our hearts with the power and joy and fire of His Holy Spirit, but not just to huddle and warm ourselves a bit in the midst of the encircling gloom and chill of a culture of death, but rather, to confidently dispel that darkness, to banish anguish, to share the abundant joy and great rejoicing of those who are entitled and inspired to shout, "The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom should fear? The Lord is my life's refuge - of whom should I be afraid?"
posted by FrPitstick | 1/25/2008
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