This past week I experienced the frustration of an eye infection. In addition to the hassle of wearing glasses instead of contact lenses, my eyes became sensitive to light. The brightness of the sun produced a squinting and tearing response that drove me to the comfort and controlled light of the indoors. Light that healthy eyes welcomed and took for granted was painful and blinding for eyes that were infected.

In contrast, the electricity in our home went out last week. Enjoying a quiet evening without television, I was unaware of the fast developing storm. Surprised and unprepared for the darkness, I stumbled through the house looking for a flashlight. At the mercy of my memory to avoid furniture and hoping that my foot did not find a stray chair, I was reminded how we take light for granted. Finally, with flashlight in hand, I was able to see. The house was still dark and silent, buy my path and house were lit. The darkness had been overcome.

Jesus proclaims, "I am the Light of the World." Certainly, Jesus was contrasting His message of love and salvation to the darkness of this world's systems of injustice and oppression. He came to inaugurate a new way of life. So contrary and different was Jesus' life, that early believers were known as "followers of the way." This new "way" of "walking in the light" is characterized by love of God and love of others. This is the light that we are invited to walk in -- the light of selflessness, not the darkness of selfishness; the light of unconditional love, not the darkness of conditional love; the light of helping others with our resources, not the darkness of hoarding the blessings of life; the light of freedom, not the darkness of license. Yes, the light of Christ is the light that shatters the darkness of this world.

Jesus tells those that follow after Him that "they are the light of the world, and "to let their light shine in such a way that all may see their good works and glorify God." Don't hide your light under a basket He says, but rather let it give light to those in your house. Yet, I am reminded that the light can be painful for those in the darkness or for those whose eyes are unhealthy. Thus, being light requires sensitivity and compassion toward others. Words like love, grace, forgiveness and kindness describe the interaction that should take place as the light of Christ shines in the darkness. When light shines forth as judgment and condemnation, it blinds and repels others.

All I needed the other night was a lamp to light my house, not a spot light. And while spot lights have their place, I suspect that our neighbors need to see our lamps a little more often than our spot lights. After all, the purpose of light is to help us see, not to make us blind.