Finding the Light through the Cross of Christ

We all have heard in one way or another that the way to God is through the Light that is God himself. That light can be the glimmer of hope as we move through a tunnel until we see a glimpse of brightness at the end. Our trek is guided by the attraction of something reflecting a peace we cannot find anywhere else. How then did we get here being drawn by an invisible force that seems to comfort us and promises a peace we never found before.

For believers in Christ and all he gave us through his suffering on the Cross becomes this path looking for the Light who is God somewhere just beyond the trappings of sin which creates a darkness we cannot get away from ourselves. But suffering? Wasn’t the sacrifice of Jesus enough? Am I expected to do the same? A resounding yes to all these questions.

Even going back to Genesis where God told Adam; To the man he said; “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life.” (Gn 3: 17). Suffering here is not an evil but a reality that will exist before the final blessings of Christ’s Passion finds us ready to be one with him.

Moving ahead to the New Testament and watching those who became exact replicas of the sacrifice of Jesus. Stephen, the first deacon and martyr, said the same theme as Jesus on the cross; “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” and when he said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7: 60).

While at the Sea of Tiberias Jesus (Risen Christ) said to Peter; “Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, :Follow me.” (Jn 21: 18 - 19). And he did!

Placing the names of many heroes who have followed the light who is Christ,would fill volumes of books. The one main criterion that stands above all is the suffering so many were willing to undergo because the light that led them is the prudence of God’s forbearance.

As written before about the Cross of Christ, we must be conscious that it was suffering that Jesus endured before arriving at the hill called Calvary. The martyrs for God, including Joan of Arc, suffered unbelievable atrocious calamities prior to death. Yet they accepted their fate at the hands of people who lost their sense of compassion and righteousness.

Spiritually speaking no one who succeeds in finding the light of God can find the realm of perfection without entering the crucible of suffering. Jesus did, St. Stephen as well as Joan of Arc, all found that on the side of new life entered into an array of light that is Truth of God’s goodness. The Light of Christ is total perfection once the scourge of suffering has passed.

Ralph B. Hathaway