The Twilight

A LENTEN PILGRIMAGE        Rev. Fr. K M George 

“The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.”

(Romans 13:12).

Twilight is the state of semi-darkness between night and day, either at the break of dawn or after sunset. We think we see, but don't see clearly. We think we are sure, yet get confused. We make errors of judgment at twilight.

A Rabbi asked his disciples, 

“When do you know it is morning?”

“It is when you can distinguish a fig tree from an olive tree”, said a student.

The teacher was not satisfied. He asked another student.

“It is when you can see the difference between a sheep and a dog.”

Still not getting the right answer the teacher said,

 “It is when you can recognise the person coming to you as a brother or sister.”

In the biblical language about the day and the night we are not referring to our usual day and night. It is about the moral and spiritual quality of light or its absence that the Scripture refers to. Most crimes are committed at night. So, criminal tendency is identified with darkness. Most of those who want to do wrong things do it under cover. They do not want to come to light, to be exposed.

Christ came as light in a world of darkness and death.

 The gospels reflect the prophecy of Isaiah who said:

“The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light; those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, upon them a light dawned.”

(Matthew 4:16; Isaiah 9:2).

This was the beginning of the enlightening gospel of Christ. Early Christians took this light into their conduct and way of life. The truthfulness and transparency of their daily living and their relationship to others were well-known. One could distinguish Christians from others by the way they talked and dealt with others. They were mostly ordinary people or even those below the poverty line. Yet they believed that they were children of light and that they belonged to a different order of society where the darkness of evil had no power.

In the morning, we wash ourselves, change our clothes, and put on what is necessary for our day-time work. We no longer wear the night dress. Our conduct is open to the daylight. We are to shed off the ways of evil as we change dirty clothes.

Yet it is difficult for many in the world since the twilight lingers with its confusing shadows and erroneous perceptions. We are unable to see a brother in a man who works for us, or a sister in a young woman who passes by. We abuse, attack, harass, rape, kill... then it is not yet morning.

Lent is the break of dawn when we make an effort to see clearly what is what and who is who. We struggle, yet we do it with the power of the Holy Spirit who discerns everything. Jesus our Lord also struggled in the desert fighting the powerful enemy, but He won. So we hold on to the hand of our Lord as we make this Lenten journey from darkness.