Jesus said, “You are the light of the world… Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father…” (Matt. 5-14–16). Light is God’s love in action, and though we are called to love, it is hard for us to be the light, even when we want to be. We survive the darkness by groping around in the ambient light of good will until we have the courage to light a torch.
Many who embrace faith traditions and who believe that God requires them to love as God loves prefer the ambient light of good will to the brilliant light of good deeds. Ambient light is soothing, brilliant light can be intense and jarring. Ambient light allows us to believe that we are doing enough when we wish others well as they struggle against poverty, bigotry, confusion, and doubt. Ambient light is a friend of those who want the faithful to be passive in the presence of evil and injustice, and to remain silent when human dignity is assaulted.
Many religions regard darkness as a metaphor for worldly conditions and states of mind. It is characterized by fear, hatred, ignorance, corruption, and the absence of compassion. The metaphor may regard spiritual atrophy and be applied to political agendas, institutional priorities and policies, and the distain that we harbor for others.
There are incentives to caress the darkness, and even Jesus was tempted as Satan offered him power over all kingdoms on Earth on the condition that Jesus bow down and worship him (Matt. 4:1–11). Temptation is part of life. We are tempted by wealth and power to live in darkness: we might be tempted by salary increases and bonuses to manipulate people or accounts, or to lie about consumer hazards to amass profit; we might be tempted by desire for power and importance by ignoring the least of our brothers because he has no influence; we might be seduced by the need to be loved and in good standing with our families and peers by reflexively agreeing with their opinions even when they offend our conscience and moral commitments.
It takes faith and courage to light torches and to lift our lanterns high, but people do it all the time. Sometimes they do it while in handcuffs. Tippy Amundson and Heather Zeimen of Brooklyn Center, a suburb of Minneapolis, were arrested on January 22, 2026 by ICE agents who cuffed them and placed them in a vehicle. While enroute to their destination, an ICE agent showed signs of physical distress and Amundson, trained in medical responses to emergencies, told the drive to pull over, uncuff her, and let her assist the agent while other agents called 911. Remarkably, the agents allowed the women to position the man in distress so that he could breathe, which meant removing his holstered gun. Nobody held the women at gunpoint for fear they would hurt the other agent or run. Everyone found a way to light in a moment of darkness. The agent who suffered a seizure lived. (Barnett, 2026).
Most handcuffs that keep us from shining our light are not tangible. They are psychological. Perhaps the most potent barrier to shining one’s light is fear — the fear of losing friends or jobs, fear of being ridiculed, being arrested, deported, or killed. Light lets us see everything from the perspective of love, and it is the light we allow to illuminate our interiors that brings courage and steadies our faith. That kind of light — that kind of love — gives us the capacity to keep loving even when our good deeds cost us our status, reputation, the affection of others, and our lives. In those radiant moments, we glimpse what we are by nature — who we are when liberated by love.
References
Barnett, Sophia. Two women, detained by ICE, say they helped agent having seizure. Minnesota Star-Tribune, January 23, 2026. Detained MN women help ICE agent having a seizure.
