In the prophesy of the priest Zachariah well recorded in the gospel of Saint Luke, we read this, “In the tender compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79). Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, inspired by the Holy, spoke this prophesy in reference to the one whom Saint John the Evangelist describes as the Word, who from the very beginning “was with God, and the Word was God, all things were made through him, and without him, nothing was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome the light” (John 1:1-5).
Christ Jesus our Lord is the dawn from on high, the Word of God, born of the virgin Mary, the life and the light of mankind. He is our peace, our comfort, our consolation, our guide. He is the way, and the truth, and the life. He is the good shepherd who comes in search of the stray and lost sheep. He seeks out his flock and rescues his sheep from all places where they have been scattered on a day so thick and dark and misty. This implies that the lost sheep blinded by the darkness of sin and ignorance, anxieties and deceptions of the sinful world, and unable to find its path, stands in great need of redemption. And in that gloom of darkness, in that confusion and scariest of days, the good shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ, the only light that burns in the dark, reaches out to this lost sheep, rescues it and restores its sight. He washes it in the ocean of mercy, cleans it, and feeds it with the bread of life, which is his body and with the finest wine, which is his precious blood.
Indeed, the Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with Joy. Oh, how could we not! How can we fail to sing, to shout for joy, to speak and to proclaim the marvelous works of God! The beautiful work of the redemption of mankind accomplished through the incarnation of the Son of God, through his suffering, death on the Cross, and his resurrection form the dead. We behold this great work of the restoration of the entire creation, of the redemption of man, whenever we come to the holy sacrifice of the Mass. He says in the book of Jeremiah, “I will gather them from the ends of the world.” And so, he does, every day, from the rising of the sun to its setting, God brings us together from all over the world, to pray, to bless and to praise him. We are all drawn to the only light that shines in the darkness of this world – the darkness of sin, of ignorance, of injustices, of addictions, of deceit, of violence and war. Christ our Lord, is the light of his followers, raised high on the cross, his might throne and pulpit, he calls, and the sheep hear his voice. We follow the lamb that was slain for the life of the world. He himself said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). St. John remarks that Our Lord said this to show by what death he was to die.
Therefore, like the brave Bartimaeus, let us constantly pour out our hearts to Jesus, the Son of David, the Son of God, and ask him to shed his light upon our blindness so that we can regain our sight and follow him on the way to eternal life.
Amen.
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