2nd Reading for the 4th Sunday of Lent

From: Ephesians 5:8-14

Walking in the Light

[8] For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light [9] (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), [10] and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. [11] Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. [12] For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; [13] but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.

[14] Therefore it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light."
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Commentary:

8-9. In contrast to the Christian's previous situation, which St. Paul describes as "darkness", he now goes on to speak about the proper course for a believer, for someone enlightened by faith. The Christian is in a different position from that of a pagan; he knows our Lord Jesus Christ and he has a new way of thinking: he is a "child of light", because Christ has given him insight into the criteria which should govern his behavior. In his new life, he should be light; he has been reborn to be the "light of the world" (cf. Matthew 5:14-16; John 1:5; 8:12), a pursuer of all that is good and right and true; this means that he has a new way of being and thinking and acting, and is an example and a help to those around him. There is no room for excuses when what is at stake is the salvation of souls to whom we could be giving a helping hand: "Do not say, I cannot help others," St. John Chrysostom preached, "if you are truly a Christian, it is impossible for you not to be able to do so [...]. If we act properly, everything else will follow as a natural consequence. Christians' light cannot be hidden, a lamp so brilliant cannot fail to be seen" ("Hom. on Acts", 20).

10. Created in the image and likeness of God, man is guided by reason, which can lead him to recognize his Creator and shape his life in line with the moral law God has impressed upon creation itself. He should always be trying to grow in wisdom and knowledge: that is an essential feature of the human spirit. The Second Vatican Council explained this in these terms: "The intellectual nature of man finds at last its perfection, as it should, in wisdom, which gently draws the human mind to look for and to love what is true and good. Filled with wisdom man is led through visible realities to those which cannot be seen" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 15). If a person uses his natural intellect properly, it will bring him closer to God; moreover, the light of faith gives one a supernatural capacity to obtain better insight into the nature of God and His plans, and greater discernment as to what to do to please God.

A person who is in love tries to discover what the loved one likes, in order to do what pleases the loved one. The love of God should also lead one to prove that love with deeds, and not leave it at the level of words. If one is to offer God actions which are pleasing to Him, one needs to have a good grasp of His commandments, of Christian doctrine and moral teaching. A first sign of the sincerity of a person's love of God is the effort he makes to obtain good spiritual and doctrinal training; that shows that he is at least making an effort in the right direction.

11-13. By his word and example, a Christian sheds light on all human realities, and thereby helps others to distinguish right from wrong. Anything that becomes visible is "light": that is, when things are properly identified--when good is shown to be good, and evil exposed for what it is (charitably but unambiguously)--the result is to dispel the confusion and moral relativism which does such harm to society. Hence the Second Vatican Council's exhortation to all Christians, especially lay people: "At a time when new questions are being put and when grave errors aiming at undermining religion, moral order and human society itself are rampant, the Council earnestly exhorts the laity to take a more active part, each according to his or her talents and knowledge and in fidelity to the mind of the Church, in the explanation and defense of Christian principles and in the correct application of them to the problems of our times" ("Apostolicam Actuositatem", 6).

14. St. Paul seems to be quoting from an early liturgical hymn, which depicts Baptism as true enlightenment (cf. Hebrews 6:4; 10:32). By their good works--the light of the world--Christians can help "the dead", that is, those separated from God by sin, to move out of darkness into the light, where they will attain through Baptism that new life which membership of Christ begins. The Apostle is comparing this situation to the luminous clarity a person obtains when he awakens from a deep sleep, in contrast to the profound darkness experienced by one who remains asleep. A sinner's conversion is the equivalent of rising up out of the sleep of death into a new existence, life in a new world illuminated by Christ, who possesses and radiates the glorious light of God (cf. Hebrews 1:3).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.