A LAMP IN A DARK PLACE
I had the experience of trekking up a treacherous mountain in pitch darkness. The group I led was unprepared for it. We did not expect to be on the trail when night fell. Those were the days when LED lamps were not yet in vogue. Only two in the group had the traditional flashlight, and by that, I meant the long, heavy plastic barreled torches that we hated to lug around during our mountain treks.
We followed the code. The lead man carried the torch, and the sweeper at the tail end carried the second. With so much debris, loose rocks and gnarled roots and branches jutting out on the uneven path, I swore, first, never to do any night trekking ever again, and second, never to leave home without my heavy but “high-tech” (read: rare) miner’s headlights.
The laughter and the noise that we made while trekking in daylight was transformed to an eerie and reflective — or fearful — silence. Our sights were focused on the lamp shining in a dark place. The light ahead of us was our guide, our bearing, our life! The light shining in the darkness transformed us all of a sudden into a focused group, united by a common goal, a common predicament, and a common desire to pitch our tents soonest so we could cook, eat, and rest our weary and aching bodies.
I would like to think that our experience resonates in some way with that of the three disciples who climbed with the Lord. Although there was no mention of darkness, His face “shone like the sun,” and He was transfigured. Like Moses, whose countenance changed after his mountain experience, the three disciples were themselves transformed after the experience.
We have had a few supposedly life-changing experiences over the past 25 years: People Power I, World Youth Day 1995, etc. They were like lamps shining in a dark place. We would do well to heed Peter, one of the three who saw the light shine on the mountain of transfiguration. He wisely counsels us: “You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTION: Recall one of your life-changing experiences. What lessons did you learn from it?
Lord Jesus, meeting You and having a personal relationship with You is one of my life’s treasured experiences. Thank You for being in my life.
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