Editorial
The Might of Light
Rev. Raymond Petrucci
March is one of those unusual months; it is long, it is muddy, it is a transitional month from winter to spring, and it is about light. The sun has moved far enough to the north to affect the brightness of the morning and evening of the day. That natural increase of brightness actually increases the brightness of our mood. Light brings clarity and a sense of security in negotiating the course of our day's activities. Light provides us with a wider perspective and a better understanding of what lies before us. Light has an abundance of positive properties for human existence.
There is another light to be noted and respected: the inner light of God's grace, wisdom, and understanding. Spiritual insight is a light that shines on our daily living and on our eternal hopes. This light is contrasted against the darkness of evil. The evangelist, Saint John, uses this division of light and darkness to great effect in his gospel. He warns us that there are people who prefer to live in darkness because of the sinfulness of their actions, but everything eventually will be brought out into the light and made known and judged by God. Essentially, the evildoer either is blinded by the sinfulness of their actions or they do see very clearly that they have chosen to follow the path of evil and willfully hide in the dark corners of their infamy. The tragedy of their choice is the illusion that somehow they believe that they can get away from the consequences of their deeds and deceive everyone concerning the true nature of their presence in other's lives. As the scriptures state, there is no corner of our lives that will not be flooded with the light of God's justice. If we live in the light, we can acquire the power of that light and all that it bestows upon us.
I am not bound to win but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed but I am bound to live up to what light I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right; stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong.
Abraham Lincoln
No matter how cloudless the sky, no matter how bright the sun, our path is in want of a light unknown to natural forces. A vision that opens a view of a pathway that is spiritually level and straight in righteous virtue and warns of any alternative road that would lead to destruction. All would be wise to open the day with a prayer for guidance and wisdom as they walk through the day ahead.
I hope that each one of us has had the feeling of awe attending the might of the sun at its dawning. Perhaps, the finest example of this wonderment is the fiery ascent of the sun as seen from the shore or aboard a ship at sea. Viewing that magical, glowing orb seemingly popping up from the depths of the ocean to command the day is one of life's glorious sights. Yet, there was another mystical dawn that we rush to meet this time of year; the dawn that brought a woman named Mary to the tomb of her Lord and became the first to encounter the morning of salvation. As the increasing light of that Easter morning shone into an empty tomb once occupied by one crushed and crucified by the sins of mankind, it reflected as a pale reminder of a light, both miraculous and indescribable, that radiated in the brilliance of the Risen Lord. The dawning of that day brought an awareness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the Light of the World – the mightiest light that mankind will ever experience.