5th day within the octave of Christmas
Saint Thomas Becket, Bishop, Martyr
1 John 2:3-11 | Psalm 95(96):1-3,5-6 | Luke 2:22-35
Anyone who claims to be in the light
but hates his brother
is still in the dark. (1 John 2:9)
King Henry II considered St. Thomas Becket his brother in spirit, until Becket started taking his God-given responsibilities as Archbishop of Canterbury too seriously for the King’s tastes and morals. Their steadily deteriorating relationship eventually resulted in Becket’s assassination by four knights in his own cathedral, deep in the shadow of winter while monks chanted vespers nearby.
I visited Canterbury Cathedral earlier this year during my UK Catholic tour, and was struck by the contrast between the darkness around the ugly cross above his martyrdom site:
Sword from sword, in shadow doth thy sins multiply
and the light surrounding the humble candle that marks the location of his shrine, long since destroyed by Henry VIII:
One small light to banish the darkness
Many of us have know literally blinding anger, the red-hot rage that obscures our vision and causes us to collide heavily with objects that we’d normally avoid with ease, “not knowing where he is going because it is too dark to see.” (1 John 2:11)
At such times, it’s hard to remember to light a candle of hope and love to illuminate our way forward. It’s much easier instead to curse the darkness and the people whom we believe caused it to fall upon us…and continue to bruise ourselves upon our surroundings.
So in this season of Christmas, let Christ be born anew within us. As the Light of the World, let Him bring the flame of mercy and compassion to us, so that we may see with renewed clarity, and rediscover those whom we call enemies but who are really friends having a hard time of their own.
And when temptation threatens to lure us into the darkness of sin, may we be inspired by St. Thomas Becket to stand firm in the Light, and encourage others to do the same.
Amen.