Jan 07, 2016

Prayer of St. Francis (11)

Where there is darkness, light

“Only in Darkness

can you see the stars.”

                               Martin Luther King Jr.

Let us look at the next line of the Prayer of St. Francis: “Where there is darkness, light.”

We are reminded that much of life often has no clear path into the future. Life seems dark; everything seems to lead only to a disaster. This is where “The glass is half empty” appears, such that it appears only down hill from here.

When we find ourselves with others that talk gloom and doom, we need to remind them that they have the greatest force possible on their side: the Love of God. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) This powerful statement puts life into perspective: no darkness can prevail against the light of God, who will protect us in our very being, no matter what is happening around us. Our task according to this line of the Prayer is to be the light beyond all lights, the Light of God. This is in according to the words of Jesus: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are on the house.” (Matthew 5:14)

YOU are that light, meant to shine on all you meet, not to be hidden under a basket of fear and “I am not worthy” false humility. YOU are the lamp of God, the only way God is expressed in this world is through YOU. THIS is the reason for your birth in this particular time and place. Yes, you do have a purpose in life; and that purpose is to be the Light of God to all who are sent into your path. There are no accidental meetings; all are meant to grow from each contact with another human. All of life has a purpose, and the process of human growth as a race depends on each one of us, and that means YOU, fulfilling their purpose in life. Because you are reading this short meditation, YOU are chosen to be the Light of God in this time and place.

I could write a few thousand words on every sentence in the preceding paragraph, and I will dwell on some.

We are not an accident of nature. We have chosen, before coming into this life, a mission for life, in a given time and place. We may fulfill this mission in this pass around or not; that is the choice we have been given. All the information, our parents, our friends, our siblings (or not), all meetings of people, everything in life is part of the overall scheme of life in which we can fulfill our mission, to be the Light of the world; the world we live in, big or small. The size does not matter; only our response to the situation matters. Nothing is an accident; but our response to any given situation is ours and ours alone to decide. If we choose ‘yes’ the outcome and future path is one way; if we choose ‘no’ the outcome and the path of life is another. But we will always be given a path to be the Light we were born to become.

Next we will look at the power that lies within you to be the light of the world.

“You are the light of the world.

A city set on a hill cannot be hidden,

Nor does anyone light a lamp

And put it under a basket,

But on a lampstand,

And it gives light to all

Who are on the house.”

                       (Matthew 5:14)

Questions to Ponder

How do you see yourself as a Light of God? A Light of the World? Jesus thought you had the power to be the light of the world; What do you believe of yourself?

Do you see situations in your immediate world where you can be that Light that Jesus talks about?

Meditation

“Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.”

If this meditation post has been helpful, I would appreciate it if you would pass it on or share it.