Serious warning.

I was talking to an acquaintance of mine the other day. He is a perfect and tolerant believer. He complained that he works in a collective governed by questionable morals, but he would like to do something for this collective. He would like to show light to his colleagues; he would want to sanitize their minds, opinions, and actions. In a word, he would like to bring the spirit of the Gospel into the environment in which he works. He has thought a lot about this, but he is afraid to start lest others turn away from him and say that he is too wise and moralistic. Our brother also knows the words of the Gospel with which Jesus speaks to us, “You are the light of the world… Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Mt. 5:14-16). But here, again, another difficulty arises for him. He asks, Am I to be the light of the world? Am I to be a light to others? After all, I am just an ordinary person. Wouldn’t it be a presumption that I shine to others? Wouldn’t that lead to pride? What is Jesus teaching us to here?

A pretty common phenomenon from nature helps to give us the answer to this problem. Let us imagine that we are walking down the street with our children some evening. Suddenly, a bright moonlight emerges from among the clouds. The children cry out: “Daddy, Mommy, look how the moon is shining!” We, adults, nod to them in good conscience and move on. But is it true? Is the moon shining? We all know that the moon doesn’t shine at all. He reflects the sun’s rays, and we receive them as the moon’s light. It is the same with us Christians. If we are to shine for others, we do not shine with our light but with the morning we receive from Christ. Thus, by Christ’s light, we shine. This consciousness will keep us from pride and conceit. People who see the light of our actions and our deeds will understand after a time that it is not our light but the light of God in whose rays we walk. I think every man finds the moonlight in its modesty sympathetic, and no one blames him for not shining with his light.

It is the same with us. People will like us, even more when they find that we have the same weaknesses as others, but we can overcome them by the strength of Christ and the power of his light. Thus, what keeps us afloat is not our abilities but the favor of God, which we use and strive for with our lives. Let us note once again Jesus’ recommendation. Jesus is not telling us: Speak of your light, where you got it from, but he recommends that we act and witness the light we receive by our actions. For those who work in this way, the fear of being accused by others of moralizing or exalting themselves will become imminent. The morning of the gospel also shows us how to begin. Notice Jesus how many times in his life he starts a conversation with a stranger by saying, “Your sins are forgiven you” (Lk 5:23). He – God forgives. And he forgives even in the last hour of his earthly life those who want to get rid of him and mock him even under the cross. And let us also look at Jesus’ deputy, Pope John Paul II. As the supreme representative of Christ’s Church and faithful bearer of Christ’s light, he descends to the prison of the man who tried to put him to death and forgives him. We, too, can most deeply and profoundly impress others in our neighborhood by ignoring no matter what wrongs or humiliations we endure.

But someone will say: “But where do we get strength from? I want to wrestle with my angry enemy, but I am afraid to meet him lest I say something to him again. Therefore, I will rather go around him.” The Holy Father John Paul II, in Frossard’s book Conversations with John Paul II, answered it something like this: “We are to draw strength for our daily duties primarily from prayer. It is impossible to say how much we should pray, but all our concerns must grow out of prayer, as it were, out of our spiritual soil. The layer of this soil cannot be too thin and shallow. Inner experience will enable us to discern how to shape this soil from day to day so that there will be enough of it to carry through all our decisions.”

Brothers and sisters, if we too feel that we could do something positive for our loved ones and for the collective in which we work daily, let us not be afraid to become the light of Christ. We do not need intellectual, theological debates to guide the lives of others but simple actions. Deeds are nourished by prayer and coming from a sincere heart.