The way of peace in rescuing the lost

Good News Reflection
Tuesday of the 2nd week of Advent
December 7, 2010
Available as a Good News Ministries Podcast:
http://gnm.org/DailyReflections/podcasts

Today's Saint: Ambrose
Pray for the holy use of words:
http://wordbytes.org/saints/DailyPrayers/Ambrose.htm

Today's Readings:
Isaiah 40:1-11
Ps 96:1-3, 10-13 (with Is 40:10ab)
Matthew 18:12-14
http://www.usccb.org/nab/120710.shtml
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_12_07.mp3

The way of peace in rescuing the lost

Jesus came to rescue those who are lost in the darkness of the sinful traps of an evil world. As today’s first reading points out, the Father doesn't want anyone to die without first being rescued from the deadliness of their sins, which is why he sent his Son into the world to go find them and substitute himself for them on the cross to redeem them.

When you lose sight of something in the dark, can you find it? Perhaps if you stub your toe on it, yeah, but you won't know you actually found what you're looking for – you won't know what's making your toe ache – until you turn on the light.

Jesus entered into our darkness to find us when we were lost, but he only succeeded because he turned on the light.

But God is all-knowing and all-seeing, right? Right! He didn't turn on the light so that he could see us. He turned on the light so that we could see him!

In the darkness and worry of the trials and damages that swirl around our sinfulness, Jesus shows us the way to peace. He illuminates it with the light of his love. He makes his love visible to us. He reveals the truth, and even when we reject the truth, it remains directly in front of our faces, shining a contradiction onto our wrong beliefs.

Jesus also turns on the light for us to see his forgiveness. Guilt and fear blind us so that we cannot see God's mercy, but guilt and fear also make us want to escape into the light, because it makes us long for peace within our souls.

Look back into your past and observe how this has happened to you before. How has Christ already presented the light of love to you, the light of truth, and the light of forgiveness? What has he done to show you the way to true inner peace?
Now consider the people you know who are still walking in darkness. Pray that the Father will not allow them to die before the light gets turned on so brightly that they cannot help but realize why they want to enter into it. This is a prayer that definitely works, as promised by this scripture (although sometimes at the last minute).

And consider the areas of your own life that are still in darkness. Where do you keep stubbing your toe? Where are you prevented from moving forward because you can't see which way to go?

What current sinful tendencies and past sins have you not yet taken to God in theSacrament of Reconciliation or in the Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass?

Ask Jesus to increase the wattage of the light that's already glowing in your life so that you can see his love and his truth more clearly and so that others are drawn to discover Jesus through your example and your testimony.

And then, to find the peace that only he can offer, surrender to the truth.

© 2010 by Terry A. Modica
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