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Sunday after the Epiphany, "The people that sat in
darkness saw great Light!" Matthew 4:16 From today's very brief
Gospel reading I chose the prophetic words uttered by the Prophet Isaiah eight
hundred years before Christ, referring to the coming of the Lord. He would be
the Messiah, Who would shed Light, so that people would not stumble in the
darkness of sin. Isaiah spoke of the power of this Light, which is Jesus, and
Who did come into this world in the midst of dense spiritual darkness. As we know in the Lord's
time, the Hebrews were the only people, who had the revelation of the one God;
--- however, they had buried this revelation under the mound of routine
practices, executing only the externals, without any true relevance or substance
to the real spirit their religion offered them. And stating this fact, could it
not be said of so many many Christians today, who routinely practice their
religion? Except then, for the
Hebrews, who had the monotheistic Religion, the rest of the world at the time,
is referred to in the Bible as people of the Nations; these people were pagans,
who continued for many centuries to fumble in the darkness of idolatry. Having
drifted distantly from the powerful beam of God's rays after the fall of Adam,
they fell into the darkness of the unknown. But sensing innately, the
ingrained need to worship a higher being, these people created gods according to
their needs, so that in reality, they worshipped their own creations. All the
world then was idolatrous, except for the Hebrews as already mentioned. The civilized world today,
for the most part, carries the most honored label "Christian." But,
casting even a superficial look, one may wonder,-- if we, the Christians of
today, are not living our life in parallel with the people of the pre-Christian
days! According
to the Prophecy of Isaiah, the people who sat in darkness, saw the Great Light!
Thus, as Christians, we all have received the true revelation of God. It would
then be most natural to assume, that since the Great Light did come, all
Christians, would of their own choose to walk the illumined path of the Lord, so
that they would not stumble in darkness of sin. A
natural question then arises: "have we as Christians, chosen to be, and
stay within the realm of the Great Light, which is Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Saviour?" -- One truly wonders, when reading the daily newspapers, --the
magazines, and witnessing the scenes and events, which dominate the television
tube! While
all Christians have been exposed to the Great Light, it appears, that so many
make the choice on their own, to grope in the darkness. --- In essence, they
make wrongful use of the free will given to them by God, and follow the ways,
they personally choose, and not the ways of God. Consequently,
all these suffer great unhappiness, and cannot sense fulfillment, regardless of
their material possessions, because true happiness and fulfillment emanate from
the heart and soul, our spiritual counterpart. How powerful the words of Beloved
Friends, we were all created in God's image and likeness; -- we came from Him;
He gave us the power to become Godlike in our ways, and it is to Him that we
are to return. This basic and fundamental fact, seems to elude so many, many
Christians. One of God's attributes is,
that He is the source of Light with everlasting brilliance; So it was that in
the fulfillment of time, according to the Old Testament prophesies, our Lord did
come to this earth as the Great Light, that was to illumine humankind's path
back to Heaven. The Lord constantly wants to share this light with all of us,-expressly
telling each and everyone of us: "you are the light of the world; let your
light so shine before the people, that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:14,16. Still further, the Lord
says: "'A city which is built on a hill or on the side of the mountain,
cannot be hid.-- Neither should anyone light the lamp and hide it under a
bushel; but place it on a lampstand, so that it may shed light, to all those
in the room. "Matthew 5:14. How simple, yet how lofty
and spiritually fulfilling are these teachings of the Lord! But, --- while
people do hear them, they somehow choose to follow, as we said, their own
selfish ways, -- and as a result, they stumble in the darkness, because, they
walk outside the rays of God's light beam! Christ is the Light of the
world, and we endeavor to always be under the rays of His Light! Unfortunately the Christian
Church, initially with the Great Schism in 1054 of East and West, and
specifically since the 16th Century Reformation in western Europe, has suffered
much by fragmentation, simply because, the individuals, whether Clergy or Laity
sought then, and still seek now, their own way, instead of the Lord's way. While
there is no official count, the number of independent Denominations is between
300 and 500! Do you know that there are
denominations today, preaching from the Bible, who deny the Divinity of Christ? All the
anti-Biblical actions come about, because the Leaders, as well as the followers,
choose to follow their own ways, instead of walking in the path paved by God. Historically,
we well know, that our Great Nation was founded on moral principles; but these
principles have been so watered down because of the individual license, which
has supplanted true Freedom. Unfortunately, even the Highest Court of our Land,
continues to hand down decisions favoring the few, much to the detriment of the
masses. Not too
long ago this Court upheld an opinion, which cleared the infamous Rap Group, 2
Live Crew of obscenity, overthrowing the opinion of the Lower Court, which had
condemned as obscene, the lyrics of the Album titled "As nasty as they
wanna be!" The Federal judge in Fr. Lauderdale had ruled in 1990, that the
Album did not deserve free-speech protection, because it was, as he rightly
said: "an appeal to dirty thoughts and the loins, but not to the intellect
and the mind." What
then can we, the law abiding citizens, -- believing in our Country founded on
moral law, -- what can we say, when those, who have a most sacred trust to
protect the masses, go off on the deep end because of Legal technicalities? ----
So very sad indeed; -- sad, and catastrophic; - sad, and demoralizing for all
God-fearing citizens. I'm a
firm believer, that the time has come, for our Country to start making efforts
to emphasize the true meaning of Freedom, which so many free-rollers interpret
as license. Freedom has its boundaries and its disciplines., -- whereas license,
is loose matter, and becomes a free for all, bordering on anarchy! Unfortunately
it is this license, -- this false conception of freedom, -- which has gained a
strangle-hold on our great Country. It is appalling, when we
read of the problems of teachers in the first elementary grades, to hear their
young pupils utter loudly foul language, without even knowing what those words
mean. The teachers seem to be so powerless, only because they are not properly
supported. Thank God though, for the
genuine Christians, who still carry the Lord's torch high, and choose to walk in
the lighted path of the Lord. That is why, after the Family, the greatest weight
falls on the shoulders of the Church, to help bring some balance in our Society. We Christians, who have seen
the Great Light, must sense it our Christian obligation to make every effort to
hang the lamp of our good works on the lamp-stand, so as to spread the light all
around us, and not hide it under a bushel. Let us ever be mindful of
the Lord's declaration: "I am the Light of the world. The person who would
follow after me shall never walk in darkness, but will have the light of
Life!" .Amen. |
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