Wednesday, Second Week of Easter
The first reading suggests that no human power can block the preaching of the gospel, not even the imprisonment of the apostles, Jesus’ closest associates. The risen Lord will always find a way for the gospel to be proclaimed, in spite of people’s best efforts to silence it. That is because, in the words of today’s gospel reading, ‘God so loved the world’. God sent his Son into the world so that everyone may have eternal life. For God, it is a matter of the greatest urgency that the gospel that was proclaimed and lived by his Son, now risen Lord, be announced to as many people as possible. God will stop at nothing to ensure that the world of humanity hears the gospel of God’s saving love for all. The light of God’s love shines through the gospel and God passionately desires that this light would shine upon all, in every time and place, just as the earthly sun shines on all. Yet, the gospel reading also states that people need to be open to this light, to come out into the light, to love the light of God’s enduring love. In the words of today’s psalm, we need to look towards the light so that we can be radiant. Nothing we do or fail to do will prevent the light of the gospel of God’s love from shining upon us, but we can chose to turn away from the light, to block it out, just as Judas left the presence of Jesus at the last supper and went out into the night. The good news is that even when we turn from the light and chose darkness, the light shines in the darkness and, if there is even the smallest opening in us to the light, the darkness will not overcome the light of God’s loving presence.