Light of Justice and Unity
January 20, 2008

Readings for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1: Is. 49:3, 5–6

Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 40:2, 4, 7–8, 8–9, 10

Reading 2: 1 Cor. 1:1–3

Gospel: Jn. 1:29–34

Link to Readings

You can also click here to read Deacon Jim Black's homily "Testify to Jesus" or click here to read Fr. Ray Ryland's "True Christian Unity."

By Father Frank Pavone

“I will make you a light to the nations.”

Today, Isaiah proclaims to us what God the Father did to His Son, and what He did to His Church. Christ is the light of the nations, and therefore His Body the Church—and we the members—become light to the nations as well. In fact, the Second Vatican Council named its key document about the Church “Lumen Gentium,” which means “A Light to the Nations.”

What is this light?

We hear from Isaiah at the Midnight Mass of Christmas, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the shadow of death, a light has dawned” (Is. 9:2). In Zechariah’s Canticle, we hear that Christ has come “to shine on those in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Lk. 1:79).

Sin brings death and discord. That is the darkness. Christ our Light conquers sin, hence destroying death and bringing peace. This peace rests on justice—a right relationship with God and with one another.

When we experience this Light, which is the very Person of Christ, we see the face of God shining in every human being. We are enlightened by the fact that God has joined every human being to Himself in the Incarnation. We are enlightened by the fact that no matter what the appearance or circumstances of a person’s life may be—age, size, shape, wealth or poverty, health or sickness, social status, level of dependency or functioning— “life is always a good . . . a manifestation of God in the world, a sign of his presence, a trace of his glory” (Evangelium Vitae, no. 34).

Illuminating a Dark World

That is why the people of the light struggle against every form of injustice, disregard for human life, and oppression. This week, three observances converge that illustrate how the Christian people struggle to let this light overcome the darkness, and how they do so as one Body in Christ.

This week our nation honors the dream of equal human rights articulated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He did not only advocate for the equality of African Americans. His advocacy in that realm was a corollary of his advocacy for the equality of every human being. His niece, Dr. Alveda King, is now a full time pro-life activist with Priests for Life and declares that the civil rights movement of today is the pro-life movement.

On January 22, we also mark the anniversary of the most egregious violation of human rights through the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which permitted the killing of children in the womb. Many will march in Washington, DC, and elsewhere this week to call for the equal protection of those children.

During these days, Christians also observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18–25). John Paul II, in his encyclical Ut Unum Sint, called for ecumenical collaboration in the works of justice and human rights.

“A Relevant Ministry”

Each of these observances helps us understand today what it means to be “a light to the nations.” For the Church, and for us as individuals, it means to exercise what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called “a relevant ministry.” In his last public address, he said these words:

I’m always happy to see a relevant ministry. It’s alright to talk about “long white robes over yonder,” in all of its symbolism. But ultimately people want some suits and dresses and shoes to wear down here. It’s alright to talk about “streets flowing with milk and honey,” but God has commanded us to be concerned about the slums down here, and his children who can’t eat three square meals a day. It’s alright to talk about the new Jerusalem, but one day, God’s preacher must talk about the new New York, the new Atlanta, the new Philadelphia, the new Los Angeles, the new Memphis, Tennessee. This is what we have to do.

Defending the equal dignity of every human being after birth strengthens our witness to the rights of those in danger before birth, and vice-versa. The witness, in fact, is ultimately one: the witness to the one Christ, who restores dignity to every human life. We pray that Christians will unite in effective service to all who are deprived of their rights, and bring about a culture of life, justice, and love.

Father Frank Pavone is the national director for Priests for Life, president of the National Pro-Life Religious Council, and a member of CUF's advisory council. He is a contrubutor to Lay Witness magazine.

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