[Jesus said:] "No one who lights a lamp hides it away or places it (under a bushel basket), but on a lampstand so that those who enter might see the light. The lamp of the body is your eye. When your eye is sound, then your whole body is filled with light, but when it is bad, then your body is in darkness. Take care, then, that the light in you not become darkness. If your whole body is full of light, and no part of it is in darkness, then it will be as full of light as a lamp illuminating you with its brightness."   

In the beginning part of the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," Lucy and Edmund Pevensie and their obnoxious cousin Eustace were transported to the ocean of Narnia and rescued by King Caspian. Caspian told them that although Narnia had been at peace, his wicked uncle tried to kill the seven lords of Telmar, who were the closest and most loyal friends of his father. Those seven lords were never heard from again after they spent time in search for each other. When Caspian and his friends set out to find them, they are told of the Dark Island which ultimately is the source of all the trouble. They are told how to conquer the evil that lurks there, but they are also warned that they were all to be tested, and that evil would do everything in its power to tempt them. They are told that before the evil darkness can be defeated outside, those who ultimately conquer will be the ones who defeat the darkness inside.

At one place in Luke's Gospel, Jesus becomes quite philosophical about light and darkness. First of all, he says that light must shine; then he says that the lamp of the body is the eye: the way the body becomes full of light is through the eye or through our minds that control what the eye takes in. The eye of the mind can create light or darkness, and Jesus tells us not to allow the eye of the mind to take in darkness. The darkness can be defined to be the evil that a corrupted human nature desires. The light is the light of Jesus who continually inspires us to higher thought.

In exactly the same vein, the good leaders of Narnia are warned that before they can conquer the darkness outside of them, they must conquer the darkness inside of them. That is, before they overcome the evil that is intent on destroying their world, they must work on the selfish evil that is within each of them.

The message is one that we must all hear. Everyone, no matter how good they are, because of the corruption of human nature, has a tendency to satisfy themselves without regard for anything else. We must be aware of the direction our human natures can take us. Our human natures want more than anything to be satisfied. They will direct our minds and wills to control our circumstances with only what we want in mind. It brings about internal darkness, and it must be controlled before any external evil can be conquered.

The Christian must always be aware of internal darkness, or, as Jesus describes it, the light that can become darkness. Our task as Christians is to keep the light bright within us, and never let it become the darkness that it could become.

PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son warned us about the darkness that can overcome your light in us. May we heed his warning, and always strive to make your light to be the guide that it should be. Be with us, we pray. 

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©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America