Deciding to come to the light

Some commentators on the texts today of the Roman Catholic Lectionary use the words of fear, tension, jealousy and courage. These emotions move through our life experience as a result of the situations in which we find ourselves. Edward Morse comments on the transformation of the fear of the Apostles arrested for their actions, which the text from the Acts of the Apostles states made the Sadducees jealous, into the courage to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit back to the Temple area and to continue preaching about the Good News that Jesus, the Son of God, is inviting people to experience Life in the Love of God through His Way.Friar Jude Winkler reminds us that the Gospel of John which today continues the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus is written in a dualistic style which presents the choice of light or dark, Jesus as eternal communion with God or rejection of His invitation as eternal damnation. Our times of self interest, jealousy, greed and suspicion are dark times when we are moving away from being open and available to others. Our decision to move toward the light as we accept humility and practice generosity of spirit and give our time and treasure is a journey more than a destination. In the tension field between good and evil we are drawn toward the light at the best times of love, forgiveness and courage and we slip towards the darkness in selfish, jealous and negative experiences. The eternal life promised by Jesus to Nicodemus is realized now as we turn our journey toward the light and come to know the power of the Holy Spirit to transform our fear to courage to bring light to others.