In today’s gospel we hear of people who hide from the light and those who are drawn to it:
“though the light has come into the world people have preferred darkness to the light because their deeds were evil. And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, to prevent his actions from being shown up; but whoever does the truth comes out into the light, so that what he is doing may plainly appear as done in God.’
After a family trip to the movies yesterday, I’ve come to the conclusion that those who hide from the light for shame of their actions are blessed, because at least their shame indicates awareness of guilt, and the potential for repentance. Our trip to the movies reminded me of an absence of shame in our modern culture. Every movie preview shown before the main attraction promised stories filled with those things people used to do in the dark for fear of discovery. Today our modern culture celebrates things like adultery and covetousness. In fact, it has no awareness these things are wrong, or that anything that “feels good” can damage their spiritual well-being. Our popular culture shines a spotlight on these things, but it is a burning, damaging light that causes cancer of the conscience, desensitizing us to the difference between right and wrong.
Let’s pray that God’s healing light of wisdom outshines our own light of self delusion and destruction.