This past week, India celebrated Diwali in a grand manner. Diwali, as we all know, is the "festival of lights". Yes, not the festival of noise and smoke. (Ask the Metro-ites)
I highly recommend that one quickly skims through the Wikipedia page on Diwali or Deepavali.
Link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali
I must admit that I was taught in school only two versions of Diwali. One from North India and one from South India. (Refer to Wikipedia again for details).
However, it is quite amazing to come to know that Diwali is celebrated in different ways across the different states of India resulting in not just two but multiple versions of the festival. But all of it leads to a triumph of light over darkness.
Why light? Let's get to that question in a bit.
The very first words uttered by God as seen in the Bible is "Let there be light." (Genesis 1:3) Isn't it so amazing to know that God's first priority was to create light and that God actually created it to lighten up a world of darkness? Well, I think it is!
Human beings since then till now have partnered with God in co-creating different forms of light. From fire to torches, from oil lamps to filament bulbs, from LEDs to selfie flashes, light has become an integral part of our lives. (Just have a chat with someone who sleeps with their lights on to know how big a deal this is!)
It seems as though we have become experts at creating lights and enjoying their beauty that we tend to forget what light really ought to be.
Every Christian proudly professes the 7 "I Am" statements of Jesus in the gospel according to John. One of them is "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12; 9:5). Jesus claims something spectacular here. He is drawing our attention to the very first words spoken by God in the book of Genesis. Jesus is saying that he "himself" is that light.
Notice the paradigm shift here. Jesus' statement here completely transforms one's understanding of "light". This statement compels us to understand light as a subject rather than an object. From light as an "it", it is light as an "I".
This is not all. The Jesus story as recorded in the Gospels is presented to us from four different vantage points (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). Four different perspectives and four different stories pointing to the uniqueness of Jesus.
In Matthew 5:14, Jesus says, "You are the light of the world." Wait. What? Jesus just said "I am" the light and now he says "You are" the light. Perplexing ain't it? Or maybe not!
Jesus Christ continues to be the perfect role model for humanity. His story reveals to us that he was and is and will be the ultimate "light" that shuns darkness. And what's more? He calls each one of us to partner with him to be "light" unto the world.
We have often created light, but we have seldom been light.
God created light to overcome darkness. Creation in all its splendor is light. Jesus, is light and so are you and I.
If Diwali is the festival of lights, it ought to carry the same message as that of other festivals of light including Christmas itself. The message being, Our world needs light. Not just selfie flashes, but real shining lights. Lights that are shining with passion for the downtrodden, lights that are burning for the poor and needy, lights that are glowing for the "other", the stranger, the foreigner, and the destitute. Are you and I gonna be that light?
Proud of you bro
ReplyDeleteThanks bro!
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