(Second Sunday after Christmas-Year A; This homily was given on January 5, 2020 at the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia in Rome, Italy; See Ephesians 1:3-18 and John 1: 1-18)
There is a hospital in the smallest state of the United States (Rhode Island) that is a really big deal for a lot of very small reasons. It is called the Hasbro Children’s Hospital, located in Providence, Rhode Island, and it provides health care for thousands of young people each year. While many of the children in that place are there for a short visit, struggling with the flu or some other temporary illness, others are fighting a much more difficult battle. With that said, there are also many medical professionals, chaplains and volunteers who bring hope and healing to those very special young people.
One day, volunteer Steve Rosnihan noticed that he could see his bus stop from the window of an upper floor in Hasbro Children’s Hospital. At the end of each day at the hospital, he would pedal his bike a short distance away, and then place it on the bus, riding public transit the rest of the way home. He told some of the children at the hospital to look out to the bus stop at 8:30pm, and at that time he began to flash the lamp on the front of his bicycle. The children delighted in this simple message of care and support. Seeing their reaction, he began to tell others nearby about the light for the children. Businesses, too, began to flash their lights at 8:30pm. Quickly word began to spread, and before long nearby Brown University also flashed massive LED lights each evening. The local East Providence Police Department started to line up any available cruisers once a week across the river, and at 8:30pm they would flash their overhead lights. By this time, all of the children at Hasbro eagerly anticipated that 8:30pm “magic minute.” The children soon began using flashlights, signalling back a message of their own: We see you, we appreciate your care and support for us. Thank you. The tradition has come to be known as “Good Night Lights,” and it has had quite a powerful impact on that local community and the lives of thousands of children.
In many ways, if we look at Sacred Scripture and the teachings of our faith, humanity is like a sick child. We were created by God for community and love, to be generous and kind to those around us; to live in harmony with the rest of creation, what Pope Francis refers to affectionately as “our common home”; we were created to be in communion with God, to adore and serve Him with all of our heart, mind and soul. That vision for all God’s children has been shattered by sin. We all experience its effects deep within our souls, in our relationships and also in the way we relate—or fail to relate—with God.
It is during the season of Advent, and especially in the celebration of Christmas, that we see God breaking through to bring healing and new life to fallen humanity once again. During Advent, we saw how God’s messenger of light, the Angel Gabriel, was sent to Zechariah with the news that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a child who would be the forerunner of the Christ. The same angel is sent to the Blessed Virgin Mary to announce, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus (Luke 1:31).” An angel appears in a dream to St. Joseph, directing him to protect and watch over the child and his mother. In their response to these illuminating messages, the holy people of God shine that light of faith back to God: We hear You, we will do what You are asking. Fiat.
When Christ is born in Bethlehem, we are told that there were shepherds tending their flocks at night when suddenly, “an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear” (Luke 2:9). The night sky had never seen such a brilliant illumination. Moments later the entire sky was filled with an entire host of angels, singing “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests” (Luke 2:14). The heavens are lit up with the saving message of God and His presence here among us!
And so it is that we come to this celebration here this morning, rejoicing in the Incarnation, the light of Jesus Christ, God made flesh. We prayed at the beginning of this Mass, in the Collect, the opening prayer that “collects” the people of God around the altar of sacrifice:
Almighty ever-living God, splendour of faithful souls, graciously be pleased to fill the world with your glory, and show yourself to all peoples by the radiance of your light.
Almighty ever-living God, splendour of faithful souls, graciously be pleased to fill the world with your glory, and show yourself to all peoples by the radiance of your light.
God has come into the world to bring healing and hope once again, and to flood with radiance this place so often obscured by darkness. He has come to bathe us in His own wonderful light. As St. John the Evangelist describes it in the Gospel this morning:
What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
—John 1:4-5
God does not merely shine a light into the world, He comes into the world literally in the person of Jesus Christ. He is Himself the light and has come to dwell in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the great message of hope for the world, so often beset by darkness; it is the message of light that we are called to carry to those who long to see it. We can listen to St. Paul’s prayer for us this morning, and ask if we are fully allowing God to answer that prayer in us:
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.
—Ephesians 1:17-18
a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him . . .
Can any of us here this morning truly say that we are already in full possession of wisdom and that we have come to know God fully in our lives? Is there not much more room in each of our lives to grow in wisdom and knowledge of God, to discover His infinite love more deeply in our personal lives and in the life of the Church? St. Paul prays that the “eyes of your heart” be “enlightened,” that the light of God would illumine our vision and broaden our hearts to love Him and those around us more completely. What are the ways in which God is calling us to experience that enlightenment this year?
Certainly, we can come to know God more deeply and intimately in prayer. In that silent conversation with God, when we are willing to set aside time each day to be alone with Him, we can come to know God, experience His presence and power in our lives. This is something we can all surrender ourselves to more generously in this coming year.
We can discover God more completely and have the eyes of our heart enlightened in the Sacraments. Here in the Eucharist we come to know God in an intimate and life-giving way. In Eucharistic adoration, we come to know and love Him, to believe more firmly in Him, to hope in Him more completely. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we come to know the merciful love of God, to experience the healing of our soul that restores our relationship with God and each other. Could we ever know the depths of that mercy enough or receive that healing consolation and absolution too much?
God is waiting for us to discover His unfathomable mercy and a deeper knowledge of Him as He continues to fill this world with His glory and show Himself to all peoples by the radiance of His light. If we are open to that gift and ready to respond—like Zechariah and Elizabeth, like St. John the Baptist, like the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph—if we allow God to enlighten the eyes of our heart and if we are willing to respond with faith in the midst of our own specific circumstances of life, we will be available to accomplish much for the Church and for the world. If we surrender to the power of God, shining in and through us in this coming year, then we will discover, with St. John the Evangelist: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness WILL NEVER overcome it (John 1:4-5).
