DAILY GRACE

March 30, 2020, Monday in the Fifth Week of Lent

Scripture: John 8:12-20

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.” Then they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Meditation

        “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

   It happened last summer. The blackout left a good portion of Tazewell, including the neighborhood I live in, in the dark. The television show I was watching at the time suddenly was no more and all the lights in the house went out. My house was suddenly drenched in darkness making it difficult to find my way. After locating a flashlight I checked the electric breakers to no avail. Going outside it became perfectly obvious. It wasn’t just my house. All the houses around were dark. I knew that I would just have to be patient —- that with time the electricity would be restored, and with it, light.

Jesus called himself the light of the world. At times we can take the gift of faith for granted. Lent offers us the chance to renew our relationship with Christ, the source of our light and faith. Four weeks of Lent have passed already, much if not most of it consumed with our concern over the COVID-19 crisis. Just as the crisis has forced upon us different routines and disciplines, Lent is meant to lead us in new ways. In the remaining two weeks of Lent may we appreciate the divine light that is Jesus Christ. Let us walk with Jesus along the way to his cross and resurrection. His grace will accompany us.

Prayer

  Jesus, thank you for being the light of my life. May I never take you for granted, but live in a spirit of gratitude for the truth that you give us, that truth that brings freedom. Help me to treasure every word in the Gospel and meditate on it daily. Your word is “a lamp for my feet, a light for my path” (Ps. 119:105). Help me to listen to the words you speak in the silence of my heart.

Contemplati                    

   “I know where I have come from and where I am going.”