It’s looking a little dark

Immorality seems to be gaining ground everywhere; threats of violence seem to be around every corner; the best efforts of good people seem to be failing; people we had trusted have let us down; and we ourselves may not be doing as well as we would have liked.

Some may say that it’s not all that bad, and certainly there are good things going on for which we must rejoice and be thankful, but it is equally certain that all is not good and that for some of us, things are very dark indeed.

So it was nearly two thousand years ago when St. Peter wrote the epistle we heard today. In fact, in many ways it was much more of “a dark place” than the time in which we live. In the midst of this darkness, Peter shares his eyewitness account of the Transfiguration: a powerful, transcendent moment that helped carry him through the darkness of Christ’s arrest and crucifixion and through all the dark moments he had endured since. Yet, that is not all the comfort that he has to share.

“Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place…”

This prophetic message is more than just a single instance of prophecy: it is all of that which Peter and the Apostles have handed on to the Church, the entire deposit of faith. It is a message of salvation and of grace, of love and of righteousness, of strength and of glory.

Like Peter, we have memories of special moments with God: moments when we felt God’s loving presence in a way we had never experienced it before, moments that give us comfort and strength. Perhaps we have let these memories be overwhelmed and buried deep under the day-to-day distractions and worries of our lives and so we need to dig down to remember and take comfort from them again.

Moreover, we possess the prophetic message, the deposit of faith, the teaching of the Church to help guide us, strengthen us, and bring us through any darkness until God brings us into the light of His everlasting love.

“You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place…”