As a child, I was always afraid of the basement of our house. It was dark and always had the strangest and eeriest noises. It would be okay to go down there if I had all the lights on, and could get out of there as quickly as possible. Once my mother, thinking no one was downstairs, turned off the light and I screamed in terror!
Lucky for me, my scream brought the light back on very quickly.
“A people in darkness have seen a great light.” These comforting words from Isaiah and proclaimed by Matthew are so encouraging to us. We no longer have to walk in the darkness of fear, uncertainty and death, but rather, Jesus has given us His light to guide us, love us and free us. What a relief, what a promise, what a joy!
How is God calling me out of darkness into His own marvelous light? How am I listening with my heart to that call? My call, my vocation, is from God, is initiated by God and will be fulfilled by God. All I have to do is listen and follow. It sounds easy – but – sometimes it is so hard because I so many times want to do it my way and not God’s ways.
Peter, Andrew, James and John heard the call in today’s Gospel. We know how they responded, but just imagine how they got there. It would have been so easy and comforting to simply stay doing what they were accustomed to doing. To change and follow took courage, faith, and maybe even a sense of “I can’t believe I am doing this!” It probably did not make perfect sense but they did it anyway.
How are you called by Jesus? How is Jesus working in your life right now? How are you responding? How is Jesus calling you from darkness to light – the light of His call?
Do not be afraid – come follow Jesus and your life will never be the same. I was afraid of the basement but I saw the light and was afraid not more.
How is Jesus call you from darkness into His marvelous and life-giving light?
This post originally appeared on http://www.catholicsoncall.org/light-darkness on January 20, 2011.