Out Into The Light

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Easter Feria 

Today's Readings:
[ Acts 5:17-26; Ps 34:1-8; Jn 3:16-21 ]

Today's readings bring us a courage that does not come from defiance for its own sake, but from trust in God’s goodness.

In Acts, the apostles are imprisoned for proclaiming Christ, yet an angel opens the doors and sends them back out with a simple command: “Go, stand in the temple and tell the people the whole message about this life.” There is no drama, no hesitation, they simply go. Their freedom is not merely from chains, but for witness.

This echoes the invitation of Psalm 34: “O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.” Franciscan spirituality lingers here. St. Francis did not argue people into faith—he lived it, tasted it, and invited others into that same experience of God’s goodness. The apostles, too, are not proclaiming an abstract idea; they are sharing a life they have encountered.

Then in John, we are given the heart of it all: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” This is not a distant love, but one that enters into the darkness. Yet the Gospel reminds us that the light has come, and still, “people loved darkness rather than light.” The challenge is not simply to believe, but to step into the light... to live truthfully, openly, vulnerably before God.

From a Franciscan lens, this movement into the light is a movement into simplicity and authenticity. It is letting go of the need to hide, to control, or to appear strong. It is trusting that God’s love is enough—not just in theory, but in the concrete realities of daily life.

So today’s invitation is to step into the light. Taste and see. Speak the life you have been given. Not perfectly, but honestly. The same God who opened prison doors is still opening hearts, still calling us to live in the freedom of His love.

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