THE LIGHT OF CHRIST ENLIGHTENS EVERYONE

(One of the homilies of the Rev. Dr. Fred Vergara, Priest-in-charge of St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church, 2197 Jackson Avenue, Seaford, NY 11783. Come and join our Sunday Eucharist at 10:00 A.M. and experience a spirit-filled worship, inspirational message and hospitable fellowship of this beautiful church in the Diocese of Long Island. Visit our website:www.stmichaelseaford.org)

One of the chants we would most likely hear in church next week, particularly on Easter Vigil is “The Light of Christ” for which we respond, “Thanks be to God!”

Part of my childhood is growing up in the care of my maternal grandparents. We were six children in the family and my parents could not care for all of us, so most of the time my grandparents would pick out some of us, to be under their care. Considering that they had other grandchildren from my mother’s siblings, you can imagine how blessed I was to gain the title of a favorite grandson.

My grandfather was so dearly attached to me. He would often carry me on his shoulders and we would go to church with my grandma. Then we would head up to the river to go fishing. Like a heavenly Father in the Bible stories I learned in church, he would guide me along the paths I’ve never known before and would show me the breathtaking sceneries I’ve never seen before. I learned to know a lot about life from the life of my grandfather.

One day, by old age and glaucoma, my grandfather became blind and I realized that our roles had changed. Instead of him leading me by the hand to explore the world, it would be my turn to take him by the hand and to bring him to places he wanted to go. This time, however, he could not see where he was going so I had to describe it to him. I realized how important it is to be able to see.

In the gospel of John (8:12-20), Jesus said, “I am the light for the world. Follow me and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.” Jesus equates light and life. In the beginning of the world, there was only darkness. Then God said, “let there be light---and there was light”---and life begins!

Where there is light, there is life; where there is light, there is hope; where there is light, there is joy; where there is light, there is peace.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, recently issued her pastoral letter for Easter and she wrote, “Easter recollects us and reorients us toward God’s eternal light of truth and peace and love.  The resurrection is the ultimate proclamation that nothing can separate us from that light, not despair or destruction or death.  We see hints of that resurrection all around us once our eyes have learned to look, and we continue to hope for its fullness, for the blessing of a light so encompassing that there can be no darkness or separation.”

After about two years of being blind, my grandfather died. I was already seven years old. On his dying day, all of our family gathered together. By the light of seven candles, surrounded by prayers, each one of his thirty total grandchildren lined up to receive his blessing and forgiveness and to bid goodbye. I sat by his bedside. I saw no tears from his eyes. He groped for my face and finally closed his eyes forever. I felt the pain of separation, knowing that I would not see my grandpa again. My parents, my church, and my faith would later assure me that in Christ, there is no ultimate separation. The light of Christ never fades.

I learned that the darkness in our lives, the struggles, the trials, the challenges that come our way, even suffering, need to be embraced because they increase our yearning for God. Jesus did not escape from the reality of pain and suffering. Instead, he embraced it, yearning for the salvation of the world and the atonement of the Father. San Juan dela Cruz, the Spanish poet and mystic, wrote about the “darkness of the soul.” It is not physical darkness, it is a spiritual darkness. Modern science calls it “depression,” a kind of darkness that envelopes the soul. But in that darkness, we long for the light. Lent and the holy week observance is a longing for that Easter light.

The Presiding Bishop concludes her message. “Lent…is a willingness to experience the darkness of our current separation and tune our yearning for the light of Christ. Carry that yearning into Eastertide, and beyond, that we and the world around us may know the blessing of the light of Christ.” My grandfather had yearned for this light beyond his grave. I too will carry that yearning for that light, the eternal light, the light that never fades.

At Holy Week, we observe the passion, suffering, crucifixion and death or Jesus Christ. I've always wondered by we called the Friday he died as "Good Friday." I know now...because Sunday is coming! The suffering of Christ on Friday was nothing compared to the resurrection glory of Easter Sunday. Today, it's time I experience a Friday gloom, I say to my soul, "why are you cast down? Lift up! It is Good Friday and Easter Sunday is coming!" May the light of Christ be upon you..