9781644135945

The Light of the World
“He shall save His people from their sins.” The angel Gabriel approached St. Joseph with the
words: “Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call His name Jesus. For He shall save
His people from their sins” (Mt 1:20 f.). Jesus has come into the world to redeem His people
from their sins. He has destroyed sin and has appeased the wrath of His Father. He has broken
the power of hell and has cast forth the prince of this world. Hell has been conquered, and once
again the gates of heaven are open. All this has been wrought through the life and death of the
Savior. This is the sublime and consoling message that the Christmas season brings to us: We
are rescued, we are redeemed.
“And you, when you were dead in your offenses and sins, wherein in time past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of this air, of the
spirit that now worketh on the children of unbelief; in which also we conversed in time past, in
the desires of our flesh, fulfilling the will of the flesh, and of our thoughts, and were by nature
children of wrath, even as the rest; but God (who is rich in mercy) for His exceeding charity
wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ
(by whose grace you are saved) and hath raised us up together and hath made us sit together in
the heavenly places through Christ Jesus. That He might show in the ages to come the abundant
riches of His grace, in His bounty toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:1–8). Without doubt we are
redeemed. How can we fail to rejoice and thank God for this assurance? We have been saved
from hell, and heaven awaits us.
“Lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.” We are already redeemed; yet
Scripture merely says, “Your redemption is at hand.” Does this perhaps mean that many men
need yet to be reconciled to God; that many men still labor under the burden of sin and guilt,
and are still under the power of Satan? We must remember that there still remains in man the
power to sin. Although we have been redeemed, the strength of human passion still remains;
there is still the barrier of pride, and many of us may yet be the children of wrath. Our guilt in
the eyes of God still remains to be destroyed by the application of the merits of Christ. Is the
Church not right, then, when she places before us during Advent the redemption as something
yet to be accomplished? Undoubtedly this applies to many of us. Many men are still at enmity
with God and are spiritually dead because of their sins. Even though we may not actually be
in the state of sin, we are still subject to the effects of sin. We are still bound by the servitude to
the goods and allurements of the world and to our own selfish interests.
“Lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand.” Have confidence, for in the
coming of Christ we shall find salvation. Our spiritual need is great, our tendency to evil is
persistent, and our attempts at virtue are weak and ineffective. We are slow to respond to the call
of grace, and we shrink from sacrifice; we crave the esteem of men, and we are bound by many
other chains to the things of earth. Who can save us from ourselves? The Savior alone can do
this, and He is now approaching to redeem us. He comes for no other purpose than this, that
He may supply the help we need. He comes as one possessed of “all power . . . in heaven and in
earth” (Mt 28:18). He is the strong one who crushes the power of Satan (Lk 11:22). He comes
as one “who loved me and delivered Himself for me” (Gal 2:20). He appears as the shepherd
who gives His life for His sheep ( Jn 10:11). “Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay
down his life for his friends” ( Jn 15:13). Should I not expect all things from Him and place my
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