February 6, 2005
I don’t know about you, but I’m really getting tired of winter. I don’t like cold, I don’t like snow, I don’t like being cooped up in the house. Now that the Super Bowl’s over, since there’s no hockey, there’s really nothing to look forward to until Easter.
But, you know, I could put up with the cold and the snow and all the rest of it, but the thing I really don’t like is the short days. To me there’s nothing worse than getting up in the morning when it’s still dark, going to work all day, then coming home in the dark. In fact, there’s a psychological condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, that causes people to go into a depressed state because of the lack of sunlight.
There are very expensive lamps you can buy that are supposed to reduce the effect of winter’s short days, but they’re really not the same thing. Nothing can replace the sun.
In the first reading today, the creation story, God says “Let there be light!” and there was light. God saw how good the light was. Light is always good. Light was the first thing God made when He created the earth. It came before the sky. It came before the land. Everything else came after the light.
We associate light with good things and dark with bad things. If someone is feeling down, we say they’re gloomy. If you’re like that all the time, they say you have a dark personality. If you’re basically a good person, but you have a mean streak, people say you have a dark side. Devil’s food cake is dark. Angel food is light.
The bad guy always wore a black hat and rode a black horse. The good guy wore a white hat and rode a white horse. If you’re in a bad mood they tell you to “lighten up.”
Someone who’s cheerful all the time “lights up the room”. They have a sunny personality. A smile lights up your face. It beams. It sparkles. Bad things happen in the dark. There’s a reason why we don’t celebrate Halloween at noon. You’ve never heard of anyone who was afraid of the light.
In yesterday’s Gospel Jesus called us the light of the world. He said, “Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Heavenly Father.” Jesus is the way, the truth and the light.
As we enter the season of Lent, it’s helpful to remember that the days are getting longer. Every day we have approximately two more minutes of sunshine. In just a little over six weeks, we will celebrate Jesus victory over darkness. When we say that the son is risen, we’re truly speaking of the brightest light of all.
But, you know, I could put up with the cold and the snow and all the rest of it, but the thing I really don’t like is the short days. To me there’s nothing worse than getting up in the morning when it’s still dark, going to work all day, then coming home in the dark. In fact, there’s a psychological condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, that causes people to go into a depressed state because of the lack of sunlight.
There are very expensive lamps you can buy that are supposed to reduce the effect of winter’s short days, but they’re really not the same thing. Nothing can replace the sun.
In the first reading today, the creation story, God says “Let there be light!” and there was light. God saw how good the light was. Light is always good. Light was the first thing God made when He created the earth. It came before the sky. It came before the land. Everything else came after the light.
We associate light with good things and dark with bad things. If someone is feeling down, we say they’re gloomy. If you’re like that all the time, they say you have a dark personality. If you’re basically a good person, but you have a mean streak, people say you have a dark side. Devil’s food cake is dark. Angel food is light.
The bad guy always wore a black hat and rode a black horse. The good guy wore a white hat and rode a white horse. If you’re in a bad mood they tell you to “lighten up.”
Someone who’s cheerful all the time “lights up the room”. They have a sunny personality. A smile lights up your face. It beams. It sparkles. Bad things happen in the dark. There’s a reason why we don’t celebrate Halloween at noon. You’ve never heard of anyone who was afraid of the light.
In yesterday’s Gospel Jesus called us the light of the world. He said, “Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Heavenly Father.” Jesus is the way, the truth and the light.
As we enter the season of Lent, it’s helpful to remember that the days are getting longer. Every day we have approximately two more minutes of sunshine. In just a little over six weeks, we will celebrate Jesus victory over darkness. When we say that the son is risen, we’re truly speaking of the brightest light of all.
posted by Mike at 3:27 PM
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