Light Shining in the Darkness
August 3, 2023
By Father Christopher Kubat, M.D.
I have heard it said that we live in a post Christian world. I am not sure I completely agree with this, but I am often tempted to believe it. I have also heard is said that we live in a world of profound darkness. Isn’t it true that the darker the night, the brighter a light shines?
“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. And when Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, behold the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him” (Exodus 34:29-30). Therefore, each time Moses spoke to God in the meeting tent, he would put a veil over his face while talking to the people so as not to frighten them.
In the first letter of John we learn that, “God is light and in him there is no darkness” (1: John 1:5). This is why Jesus, the God made Man said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Jesus hid this divine light his whole life except for a brief moment on a lofty mountain. “Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garments became white as light” (Matthew 17:1-2). Like the Israelites who saw the light of God in the face of Moses, they were afraid.
Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:8). When darkness clouds the mind, it has a trouble seeing the truth. The darkness today is so profound that the challenges facing medical professionals would have been unimaginable a generation ago. Tragically, this has led to mass confusion of the true nature of the human person.
How do we obtain more light in this world of darkness? We have to go to the source of light, that is God. Every time we receive a sacrament, especially the Blessed Sacrament, our souls and bodies are filled with divine light. In addition, every time we go in front of a tabernacle, the modern-day meeting tent, this light grows in intensity, easily seen by our guardian angels.
This light needs to shine on those who are in the dark, but how do we share this light? By our good example, love and mercy toward our neighbors including our enemies. As Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist said, “Through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:78-79). This is our job too. All the while this is happening, fortitude, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, will give us the courage to keep this light shining in our souls dispelling the darkness that surrounds us. To reassure us, our Divine Savior said, “Be not afraid,” and “Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (John 6:20; Matthew 28:30).
National Chaplain Fr. Christopher Kubat, M.D. will be at the Annual Educational Conference (AEC), where further discussion will take place regarding the virtue of courage and its importance in the care of patients. Click here to learn more about the AEC or to register.
