One River, Many Wells - Chapter 3

Light

We now know that matter is trapped light: slow-moving light; or "frozen" light as physicist David Bohm puts it. Yet, because for every particle of matter in the universe there are one billion particles of light, we are amazed to learn how special matter is, how rare matter is, what a rare gift it is to be flesh or matter, that is, slow-moving light. Matter is light. It is very special light
- Matthew Fox

Yahweh, how great you are!
Clothed in majesty and glory,
wrapped in a robe of light!
- The Psalms

The word "glory" ("doxa" in Greek) bespeaks light, radiance, and splendor. Nature is filled with the glory of God, who is king of glory and has poured out the divine radiance into Creation. We hear that the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.
- Matthew Fox, commenting on the passage from the Psalms

The human body is a wick, and a light is kindled above. . . . The light on one's head needs oil, the oil of good deeds!
- The Zohor, a Jewish mystical text

I am the light of the world;
anyone who follows me will not be walking in the dark;
he will have the light of life.

As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world.
- Jesus, John's Gospel, New Testament

The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men;
and he was coming into the world.

All that came to be had life in him
and that life was the light of people,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower.

The Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us,
and we saw his glory [doxa],
the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
- John's Gospel

God is light; and one who approaches this light is illuminated.

God puts into creatures, along with a kind of "sheen," a reflection of God's own luminous "ray," which is the fountain of all light . . . Shining reflections of the divine radiance must be understood as the sharing of God's likeness and constitute those "beautifying" reflections that make beauty in things. The being of things is itself their light and the measure of the being of a thing is the measure of its light.
- St. Thomas Aquinas

There is no Creation that does not have a radiance. Be it greenness or seed, blossom or beauty. It could not be creation without it. All Creation is gifted with the ecstasy of God's light.
- Hildegard of Bingen

I like the theme of light (why else would I put it up here?!) - it reminds me of my high school years. . .

I started seriously re-attending Mass in High School as a freshman - I started playing trumpet with our choir, which is the way I believe the Spirit led me back home. I also started reading the Bible as a freshman, after a Senior that I knew challenged me to explore my Christianity more fully.

After this, I started attending a prayer group in a neighboring parish. Shortly thereafter, I clearly remember one night not being able to sleep. I was staring up at the bottom of the bunk bed (my younger brother slept on top), and I just could not sleep. So I started praying - talking to God. I started by telling him how I was doing, what was going on with my life. I then started praying for different things in my life, which led to praying for the people in my life. The more I talked, the more people it seemed I had to pray for - prayers of thanks, prayers of petition, prayers of wonder and awe. I talked with God that night for about three hours straight, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, all the time marveling at the conversation.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt like some of the people in the gospels - like a veil had been removed from my sight . . . like a haziness had been blown away . . . like the dawn was over and the true light of the sun had finally flooded in.

I felt like a new life had started in me - like I had been flooded with the Spirit of fire & light and that it had transformed me just as Jesus had transformed at his transfiguration.

So I like the image of light. Quite a bit. :-)

Blessings & Peace,
Hugo