THE LIGHT OF CHRIST SHINES IN THE DARKNESS

During the time of Advent, in the last three Sunday Masses, we hear the development of the mission of John the Baptist, but the tricky thing is that these gospels are not in chronological order: first is the last one (the testimony that he gave definitely from the dungeon) sending his disciples to Christ. Then, in the following Sunday, the testimony he gave to the Pharisees; and finally, the one he gave before all the people, from the beginning of his preaching, announcing that it was necessary to prepare energetically their hearts because the time had come when “all mankind shall see the salvation of God”. This is the Gospel of today.

Also today remembering in a way the “O” antiphons, we sang them at the beginning of Mass in the order of the Latin phrase “ERO CRAS” which means “I’ll be tomorrow”.

But why the order is important? Not only because, when we walk towards the Light, we progressively leave darkness and enter into the original state God designed men (that primordial Adam, of which Christ is paradigm per excellence) but also, in the progression of our earthly life we can see a destiny, a direction, a sense for our existence, that is, we can see the loving providence of God guiding us towards Him.

Now, one of the biggest problems in human life is the problem of evil, the problem that simple people (and other that aren’t so simple, but malicious) condense in the phrase “if there is a God why does He allow evil to exist?”. I believe this “argument” comes from a lack of understanding of how God develops His plans.

In His Christmas Novena St. Alphonsus mentions something very interesting. He says: “Had an angel been our redeemer, men would have had to divide their hearts in loving God as their Creator and an angel as their redeemer; but God, who desires men’s whole hearts, as He was already their Creator, wished also to be their Redeemer.”

“But God, who desires men’s whole hearts”… Yes, God has a desire… a desire of saving men´s souls… but something that even God can´t do is to make humans love Him, to choose Him, so He uses another way to bring us towards Him, not the way of the angels (who have not free will) but the way suitable for human beings, a way of free will, which many times involves sufferings and incertitude. To paint the painting of the universe He allowed darkness to exist in the cosmos so we can appreciate better the colors of His actions in our life. That’s why a person who has suffered a lot in his/her life, if he or she is of good will, will also be capable of thanking and loving God more than many people who don’t consider the graces of God in their lives.

Yes, as a woman to bring a new life to this world, needs to pass through a process of suffering, a process of contractions and expansions, in order to live a fruitful life, we also need to accept those times of “contractions” and “expansions” in our lives, contributing with God in the development of His marvelous creation we see around us.

“God is capable of writing straight with crooked lines” says an old famous phrase. But St. Paul said something even more profound than that when he told the Romans that: “where sin abounded, grace did more abound”. By the coming of our Redeemer to share with us the difficulties and sufferings of this life (which we will be remembering this week in Christmas), and by his sanctifying sacrifice on the cross, he was able to transformed the greatest injustice of history and the greatest crime committed by the jews, into the greatest hope and joy for mankind: The gift of our redemption.

“Quod scripsi, scripsi” (What I have written, I have written). Those were the words of Pontius Pilate in chapter 19 of the Gospel of the other St. John, the evangelist.  

Almost at the end of the story we see that Pilate himself has one moment of great clarity. There’s one moment where he takes a definite stand. He decrees that over the cross of Jesus should be a sign. IESUS NAZARENUS REX IUDAEORUM – Ο ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ο Ναζωραίος ο Βασιλιάς των Ιουδαίων – יֵשׁוּעַ הַנּוֹצְרִי וּמֶלֶךְ הַיְּהוּדִים (Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews). And the Jewish officials were scandalized, possibly because the abbreviation of that phrase in Hebrew would be precisely Yahweh, the name of God. Imagine how many people were those days going to the temple of Jerusalen to celebrate Pesaj (around two million people), and in their way they passed in front a crucified man with a sign over his head that says “Yahweh”?

No, no, no, don’t write that. You should say he just claimed to be King of the Jews – the jews said- He’s not really the King of the Jews. And Pilate, in his great moment of clarity, says,

“Quod scripsi, scripsi” (What I have written, I have written). Because of his adamant stance there, Pontius Pilate became one of the first great evangelists sending the good news (the Gospel) of our redemption in the three more relevant languages of the world at that time: Latin, Hebrew, and Greek. He announced the Priestly Sacrifice of Jesus, His divinity as Yahweh, and His Kingship by stating that He was King.  

Now… Pilate an evangelist? In what sense? Well, the thing is that the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον doesn’t mean only “good news” in the spiritual sense. Well, at least not 2000 years ago. In ancient times, the word εὐαγγέλιον was used to announce military victories or the proclamation of a new emperor. It was an official proclamation with an impact that could change the course or destiny of a nation. So, when Pilate wrote “IESUS NAZARENUS REX IUDAEORUM – Ο ΙΗΣΟΥΣ ο Ναζωραίος ο Βασιλιάς των Ιουδαίων – יֵשׁוּעַ הַנּוֹצְרִי וּמֶלֶךְ הַיְּהוּדִים (Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews) he was literally (even without knowing) announcing the military victory of Jesus Christ and proclaiming him as a new emperor. Then, when the first Christians adopted this term, they were saying something revolutionary. Jesus is king and his victory is the only thing that matters.

More than simply “good news”, the Gospel was an announcement that the Kingdom of God had arrived and was transforming the world, with His crushing victory against darkness and death.

Darkness and death in opposition to Light and Life… But why do we talk about that today? Because that contrast is the apex of Advent, that´s the reason of this season.

If we look at those Byzantine icons, we can see this contrast represented very intensely. The moments before the birth of Christ and the very representation of the Nativity are not the “cute” scenes we see on Christmas cards; they are a profound theological statement that directly links the birth of Christ with his Death and Resurrection. Christ is born in a dark cave, the darkness of the world; Christ, the “Sun of Justice,” enters the deepest darkness to illuminate it. The darkness in which humanity was living is destroyed by the Light of Christ, just as we remember liturgically by moving from Advent to Christmas.

The story of the expectation of the infant Jesus seems surrounded by darkness and very painful if we look at it without its true meaning. Mary and Joseph had been traveling for more than four days, they were tired and hungry, they had nowhere to spend the night, and the Virgin’s time to give birth arrived. How sad all of that seems! Jesus being born in an open field… what an injustice!. Cold, indifference, and darkness are his firsts experiences of human reality.

Looking at the manger, one can’t help but feel the contrast of seeing Jesus among animals while we celebrate Christmas with joy, food, and family gatherings.

This leads us to the question: Why did God choose to present himself in this way? Well, how else could the One who would deliver the world from misery be born if not by entering this world of misery? How else could He be the light of the world if He didn’t enter the deepest darkness? How else could He redeem us from the dungeon in which mankind was if He hadn’t entered the heart of the earth?

Yes! The story of the expectation of the Savior’s birth might seem sad and somber; however, beneath the guise of adversity and hardship, God chose to be born, and light came to this earth so that the earth could attain light.

As you can see… no matter how dark is the night, how difficult is the situation, how sinful someone can be, if we turn towards the light, He will transform our sufferings into an opportunity obey His desire… “Duc in altum”… “to draw closer to Him”. 

O Sapientia, O Adonai, O Radix Jesse, O Clavis David, O Oriens, O Rex Gentium, O Emmanuel… may your light be always in front of us to guide us back home.