4 January, Monday — Darkness, Overcome

Jan 4 — Monday after Epiphany Sunday

1 Jn 3:22-4:6
Mt 4:12-17,23-25

“…a light has dawned”

 I remember the time I fasted for three days. By ‘fast’, I mean that I had decided not to ingest any food during the period of the fast, choosing only to drink water and black coffee.

Why such a drastic course of action? I had found, increasingly, that I was feeling under the weather and thought that the fast would do much to clear my system.

After the three days (and seven kilograms lighter), I started feeling much better, and started eating again.

What happened subsequently surprised me. All the flavours I experienced were heightened. I found fruit to be really sweet, and found much of the cooked food to be much too salty and over-seasoned. I looked forward to experiencing the familiar flavours in a newer way. I began to appreciate, again, all the flavours, after only three days of fasting.

In today’s Gospel, our Lord talks about people living in darkness seeing a ‘great’ light. Having lived in a world devoid of any light, ANY spark will feel like a miracle in itself, let alone a great light. 

In preparing this reflection, I noticed the words “a light has dawned” within the same passage. These words brought to mind an old memory — my father was bunking with a friend for a period of time and would bring me over for some weekends. At that time, as a child, I was afraid of the dark. Unfortunately for me, I had to sleep in the living room due to a lack of space, and I would lie there in the darkness, watching and listening for any strange noises.

One of the things I would do was to wait for dawn, which would happen past 5am. This light would just be a hint of brightness, but gave me the confidence and strength to really fall asleep. This light, no matter how slight, gave me hope.

In being born, Jesus came into our lives with an impact like nothing and no one else. As we go through this liturgical year, let us allow His light to fill us with confidence and faith, and to grow towards heaven!

(Today’s Oxygen by Paul Wee)

Prayer: We pray that we may always turn to Your light to brighten our lives and to take away the darkness. Help us, Father, to never take this light for granted!

Thanksgiving: We praise You and thank You Father, for sending Your Son, Jesus, to help us see. Thank You for allowing us to see the possibilities of what and who, we can become.