Dear people of Grace,

“And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.” John 3.19-21

We know this to be true. We embrace the light; we reject what is evil.

But sometimes what we know to be intellectually true is hard to translate into the everyday world in which we live. What does light look like? What is darkness? And isn’t the world somewhat gray in reality?

I want to take this simple passage and say categorically, emphatically and unconditionally, that we are called to be people of the light. In the Gospel of Jesus Christ there is no room for grayness. Jesus commands us, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 5.48). Not, “do as well as you can, given your environment.” Not, “be as perfect as you can be, given the practicalities of living in twenty-first century American post-modernity.” No, Jesus challenges us: “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Aspire to become like God.

This seems ridiculous, impractical. Jesus is the only perfect person who ever lived; not even the saints were perfect. I don’t stand a chance! But what we must realize is that the saints became saints precisely because they dedicated their lives to the pursuit of divine perfection. They tried.

So what does this mean for us, practically?

It means looking at ourselves honestly, critically, to check ourselves for dark spots, for the parts of our lives that we attempt to hide in the shadows and ignore. It means letting go of the things which control us. It means choosing the right path – not the path that makes us feel good, or the response which satisfies our pride or our will, but the will of God.

I venture that most of us already know our faults. Most of us know the ways in which we fall short. So, start small. Tackle that one thing. Make a good choice, and then make that right choice again, and again, and, with God’s help, that choice will become a holy habit. And then move onto another thing. Be like the saints – step out into the light and try; keep trying until you become a little more perfect, a little more like our heavenly Father.

Hiding our faults away in the shadows, hoping that God won’t see them, is not a good strategy for salvation. “Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3.19). This is the essence of Lent. We take a good look at our lives to look for where we fall short. We tackle one deficit at a time in real, practical steps. We repent of our evil behavior and we pray for God’s grace in helping us do better. And we try, and try again, and again…

Nobody is exempt from this call to action. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1.8-9). We cannot delude ourselves into thinking we don’t have any faults which need tackling, that we are “good enough.” We must not kid ourselves that we can get away with grayness.

Join me, this Lent, in stepping out into the light, to expose our deeds – the good, the bad, and the ugly – safe in the knowledge that, if we repent and earnestly try to do better, that we will, eventually become a little more like our perfect heavenly Father.

Blessings and peace,
Fr. Nick