Tag: Light

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.

Heat is real; cold is not. Cold is the absence of heat. Good is real; evil is not. Evil is the absence of good, the subtraction of good.

There have been at various times in history philosophers who have posited dual, equal forces in the universe: A force of good, and a force of evil. These are like uneducated scientists, who would argue for the existence of two physical energies, heat and cold.

So it is that Paul tells us today that Jesus is not “yes” and “no.” Jesus is the eternal “yes” to the Father, which reached a special human climax in the agony in the garden, when He told His Father, “Yet, not my will, but yours be done.” (cf. Lk. 22:42) It is a “yes” that is mirrored in the “May it be done unto me according to your word” of His mother, which ushers Him into the world.

Jesus is the eternal Positive. He is not the “no” to sin; He is the “yes” to happiness, fulfillment, and love. Our “no” to sin is a double negative–“no” to “no” to God. In the end, though, once we get past our fixation with the allurements of sin, Christian life is much more about the direct path: The simple, constant “yes” to God.

This “yes,” in all its simplicity, is the salt that seasons the world and the light that illumines the world, which Jesus describes in the gospel. This “yes” is a compelling force, a saving power wielded by every Christian who makes it his or her life.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Tell Jesus “yes,” unconditionally. Ask Him for the gift that your “yes” be the constant definition of your life, as it was for Him.