Jesus the Light of the World
by Fr. Gus Carter
3 /6 /05

Some years I took an excursion boat to Anacapa, one of the Channel Islands off the City of Ventura. It was the end of the nesting season for sea gulls on the island. The baby birds were then almost as big as their mothers. Yet the mother birds were still bossing them around, trying to teach them survival tactics. The young gulls reminded me of teenagers.
A book by a Tibetan monk explained that part of Buddhist teaching involves how to overcome sadness and discouragement. One must respond to dejection by thinking of all the mothering in the world. One must remember hens with their chicks, mother dogs' great patience with pups feeding off of them, cows nuzzling their calves. The world is full of love and compassion. Allow this great energy to give us courage to move on in life.

We believe that God reveals what divinity is like through nature. We should not be surprised that other religions discover the importance of love in human life. We believe that the Lord sent His only Son to reveal to us how to live worthy and contented lives in a world of hatred, violence, injustice. The Beloved Disciple tells us, "Let us love one another because love is of God." Jesus whole life speaks of the primacy of love.

I have been asked if I think that grace is found in other religions. The deepest experience of all the major religions of the world is of incredible goodness at the heart of the universe. The Buddhists call this experience "enlightenment." It teaches them all about life. To be enlightened, they say, you must be compassionate. When you become enlightened, you become like the compassionate Buddha, spending your life relieving the sufferings of others. St. John said, "Where the is love, there is God." Buddhist teaching is definitely about love and therefore full of grace.

Jesus whole life preaches the message that the way to overcome evil in the world is through love. Jesus' teachings and actions make him the "light of the world." He shows us how to love. By the power of his resurrection Jesus gives us the energy to love when we follow his' instructions. He gives us the strength and courage to put into action what he tells us to do. Today's miracle of healing the blind man shows us his compassion. The way he treats the man shows that understanding another person is a vital part of love. Jesus' gentleness, meekness and mercy are shown throughout the Gospel.

I was reading a book lately titled "Quantum Grace." The author recalled visiting a much loved nun who was dying of cancer. The author asked the nun what she felt was most important in life. The dying woman responded, "We are never outside the Father's love for us. We might stumble, we might fall, but He is always right there to pick us up. Don't ever forget that."

In further discussion the two women agreed that we cannot speak of God's unconditional love. The one very big condition is our acceptance. God does not force love upon us. The Lord surrounds us with love, woos us with love, approaches us in love - but we always have the final say. It is up to us to say yes - or no.

Our main problem is that we seek for love in many wrong places. We confuse love with pleasure. We know that adultery and fornication are often called "love." We are inclined to measure God's love by our material success. We spend so much energy accumulating things. Unfortunately there are those who believe that love is something to be earned, a huge debt to be paid, or a reward for endless service. Possessive love is expecting another person to live for us.

The way to accept God's love is by trusting the Lord's advice. It is hard to love our enemies, but.' how else are we going to heal the woundedness that exists among us. We pray for the wisdom and courage to be healers and peacemakers in a broken society. Such a way of living heals our own brokenness. We must allow Jesus teachings to enlighten the way we live.

Let Jesus' life be the way that moves us out of darkness into the wonderful light of a love filled life.

The love of God is brought to us personally in the life and teachings of Jesus. Getting to know Jesus personally, following Jesus' instructions, enlightens our path through a sometimes discouraging and frightening world. In our personal darkness let Jesus' love bring light into our lives.