Most of us here at mass this evening have probably had electricity as a part of our lives since we were born. Many parts of the world are still not that way. Where I lived as a missionary in Ecuador and where I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guinea in Africa did not have electricity a lot of the time. We probably can not imagine what our lives would be like if we did not have electricity. When I was on the Camino in Spain in the middle of the season of winter a few years ago, the sun did not rise until about 8:30, so most mornings I was walking in darkness for at least an hour or two. Since many of the paths were in the mountains or in other rural areas, there was not a lot of light. The last day of my walk into the city of Santiago de Compostela, I decided to start out very early in the morning – at 4:45 am – so that I could arrive at the pilgrims’ office that morning to register as a pilgrim and to attend the pilgrims’ mass at noon. During those early morning hours on my last day hiking on the Camino, I spent time in a eucalyptus forest and down some very remote paths in total darkness before the sunrise that morning. The quiet dark hours that gave way to a beautiful sunrise were some of my most memorable, prayer-filled hours on the Camino, time with God that I will always cherish. I remember the little LED flashlight I used on the Camino in those early morning hours that gave me just enough light to be able to see where I was going. Jesus is the light of our world. He is that light that helps us navigate through the darkness and shadows that we encounter in life. He is the one who illuminates those values of our faith that we are to live by. May we see Jesus as our light in the midst of those things that could take us off our path of faith.
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