[Father Paul]
The Light of the World
They say that a candle shines brightest in the darkness. If Jesus is the light of the world, perhaps he is shining brightest at this moment, the dead of winter just before the dawn of spring, when we are engulfed by fear and isolation. And we do have much to fear: homelessness, mental illness, food insecurity, and natural disasters. We need to pray for the 67 souls who lost their lives last week in that horrible plane crash in Washington.
Today's readings remind us that Jesus is the light of the world. But what does it mean that Jesus is the light of the world? Let me begin with two very different stories about freedom.
When I was at Christ the King Seminary studying for the priesthood in the late '90s, I was assigned to the Bisonette House on Grider St. in Buffalo. It was part of our formation program to spend at least four hours a week volunteering for one of the service organizations in western New York. The Bisonette House was a halfway house for inmates just released from prison. My supervisor was Sr. Karen Klimczak. The Bisonette House was named after a priest who was murdered in that residence by two people who asked for food and a place to stay. He was making sandwiches for them when he was attacked at knife point.
My role was to help the inmates transition to life outside prison—taking them to their various appointments and helping them find work. I certainly learned to appreciate the horrendous task of reentering society. As one man told me after being rejected for a job at McDonald's, "It would be so much easier for me to go back to selling drugs." Sr. Karen was wonderful to me; it was a great learning experience. I even used to stay there on weekends occasionally when Sr. Karen was out.
One of my first assignments was to meet an inmate at Attica State Prison who had been serving three 25-year sentences for a triple murder (his ex-wife and her parents). She wanted me to meet him because he had accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and I was amazed at how open he was, how kind he was, and, honestly, how happy he was. Of course, he insisted to me at the time that there was not a moment that went by that he didn’t remember with horror the terrible crimes he committed and how sorry he was that it had happened. He related that just after the ordeal, he was about to commit suicide, and his father had urged him not to. His father told him that even though life would be very different for him, it was still worth living. In prison, now almost 40 years in, he found redemption in Jesus and in art. I will include a link from a TED talk given from Attica in 2021. Phil Glaser, Attica State Prison
The other person I would like to mention had been released from prison, and I had to take him from the halfway house to ECMC for dialysis treatment. He was very bitter and very angry, blaming everyone for his problems, including God. As I dropped him off back at the Bisonette House, it occurred to me that Phil Glaser, serving a triple life sentence in prison, was freer than the man who was released.
This story has a very sad ending, and it is a bit frightening to me; it is actually the first time I mention this in a homily. But in April of 2006, my mentor and supervisor, Sr. Karen, came upon one of the residents by surprise. He was in the process of stealing her cell phone when he attacked her. She didn't survive the attack.
So, yes, we live in a very difficult world. But if Phil Glaser can find freedom while serving a triple life sentence, how much more can we also find true freedom in our circumstances?
This is what it means that Jesus is the light of the world:
To know the truth that Jesus enlightens our path and eliminates fear. This is faith.
To feel the mercy of Jesus, who brings us freedom from sin and eliminates guilt. This is hope.
To accept the love of Jesus and return that love to others by contributing to our world; this eliminates sadness and despair and brings us abiding peace that the world cannot give.
I wonder if we realize just how important Jesus is. Here we have, in today's Gospel, Simeon, an old man at the end of his life meeting a young baby at the beginning of his; and a young couple offering their child to God at the beginning of their marriage, and a world about to receive its Saviour at the beginning of redemption.
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