One of the most frequently used literary tools used in the Scriptures is something called an "inclusio." The easiest way to describe this technique is to compare it to bookends. When we find two verses that mirror each other, we realize that the sacred author has bracketed an important idea for our consideration. Oddly enough, the entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments, Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, are so bracketed.
The Book of Genesis begins with God's solemn pronouncement: "Let there be light."
The Book of Revelation ends with these lines: "Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever."
Although the sacred writer of the Book of Genesis knew nothing of Jesus Christ, the opening words of the Bible point to Christ. As you are no doubt aware, light is created before the sun and the moon, usually thought of as the source of light on our planet. I cannot tell you how many times people have asked me how God could create light before God created the sun. The Book of Revelation reveals that these physical sources of light are not the real source of light in our darkness. Jesus is, as St. John has reminded us here and in his Gospel, the Light of the World.
For those of us who live in northern climes, we are drawing close to the shortest day of the year. Darkness now fills the majority of our twenty-four hour day. The further north you go, the more this truth is readily apparent. Yet that darkness is permeated with the light that is Jesus Christ.
As St. Paul writes, we are to put on that light and shed the darkness. As we close off another liturgical year, let us cling to the light that is Christ. "Bright builder of the heavenly poles, eternal light of faithful souls, Jesus, Redeemer of mankind, our humble prayers vouchsafe to mind."
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator