Let The Light Shine
We all know that staring into the light of the sun is too much for the eyes. We also know sunlight reflects in countless ways that delight us. Have you ever seen a quaking aspen? The leaves flap in the breeze, catching the light of the sun: a glittering spectacle. Have you ever sat languidly in your favorite room in the house, mesmerized with how the sunlight plays on the wall? I know you have seen what sunlight does to clouds near the horizon at dawn or dusk—many shades of glorious color delight the eyes and stir the soul. How about sunlight on the water…in the hair of a child playing? And what is the magic of the moon, but the reflected light of the sun? We might as well recall this double delight: the sun reflects off the moon then again, the moonlight off rippling water.
It may be impossible for us to look directly into the sun, but we look in wonder at the marvelous effects it has all about. Change one letter in the word “sun” and you have a topic for reflection indeed. As with light from the sun, so it is with the light of the Son. The light of Christ often is showing up, gloriously reflected in your own life—in the lives of your brothers and sisters. We are coming upon the Feast of All Saints Day, this Sunday. It is the celebration of how vast multitudes of believers through the ages have been so beautiful. People now and back through the centuries have been those through whom the light of God has been known in the world.
Our Psalm for this Sunday hints at this. In the early verses of Psalm 34 we read:
“Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord; let us exalt his Name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me out of all my terror.
Look upon him and be radiant, and let not your faces be ashamed.”
I live in the company of believers. I know how radiant you are with the glory of God as you allow yourselves to be. When you look upon Christ daily and let your face be a reflection of his presence, the world is a different place.
The Mystery of God’s holiness is ineffable, beyond our comprehension, but when I see God reflected in the lives of his saints, the saints of old and you, my family of faith, my own heart is lifted in thanksgiving. Keep this prayer for All Saints in your minds all week:
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.