The “Light” of Hope

The Gospel suggests that Jesus is the light of the world, and that we are called to be the salt and light, spreading hope and compassion to all.

Intellectually, we know that the sun radiates light throughout the world, and physically, keeps us alive. Metaphorically, we understand that Jesus brings light into our lives in the form of faith, hope, and love, and keeps us “spiritually” alive.

In the 17th century, Isaac Newton transformed our understanding of “light” by proving that color was a characteristic of light, rather than a mere refraction. In his experiments, he found that individual colors are the essence of light. He extended our thinking beyond what we thought was true, and expanded our vision of reality within the natural world.

How can we use this out-of-the-box thinking and apply it to our own understanding of God? Can we transform the way we interact and share God’s love with others? By honoring the individual colors (backgrounds and experiences) of humanity with humility and understanding, we can model that we are not merely a refraction of light; we radiate with it – in the rainbow that is God’s creation.

The 21st century brings with it an opportunity for Christians to re-frame our understanding of Jesus’ message to share hope with the world. Instead of persuading others to reflect “our” light, we can encourage the divine light within each person’s unique experience.

The essence of spirituality – across all religions — is HOPE — and the divine spark resides in all. Finding commonalities throughout the world, and even in our own neighborhoods, are ways that we can spread light and hope to honor the image of God within.