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Let Your Light So Shine
Session V: Walk While You Have the Light: Preparing for an Illumined Life

“Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36“While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” (John 12:35-36)

Goals:

To instill the idea that the spiritual life in Christ and the acquisition of the Holy Spirit is the source of light and gives us power to do good works.
To establish prayer life as the foundation for any further experience.
To understand the idea that if the inner light is bad, then good cannot shine through.

Objectives:

To identify the main elements of a healthy prayer life: daily prayer, regular confession, fasting and Communion.
To make a personal inventory of things we need to purify ourselves from so that our light can shine.
To define the phrase, “Let Your Light Shine,” based upon Mark 9: 2-3; Luke 11:33-36; and Matt. 6:22-23 and Motovilov’s account of the transfiguration of St Seraphim.

Activities:
Activity #1 Being Filled with Light

There has long been a tradition of stories in the Church about holy people. These people let their light shine in so many ways that by the end of their life some people could actually perceive a light radiating from within them. This amazing experience was not something made up later by people but a potential hinted at by Jesus Christ Himself and is ultimately connected to His own transfiguration (Mark9: 2-3).

Ask different participants to read aloud Mark 9:2-3; Luke 11:33-36; and Matthew 6:22-23.
Then read the account of the transfiguration of St Seraphim of Sarov.

And after six days Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them, and His garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them (Mark 9:2-3)

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lamp stand, that those who come in may see the light. “The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. “If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.” (Luke 11:33-36)

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. ”But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23)

Account of St Seraphim’s Transfiguration
A close admirer and follower of St. Seraphim, Motovilov, described the miraculous transfiguration of the starets’ face. This happened during the winter, on a cloudy day. Motovilov was sitting on a stump in the woods; St. Seraphim was squatting across from him and telling his pupil the meaning of a Christian life, explaining for what we Christians live on earth.
"It is necessary that the Holy Spirit enter our heart. Everything good that we do, that we do for Christ, is given to us by the Holy Spirit, but prayer most of all, which is always available to us," he said.
"Father," answered Motovilov, "how can I see the grace of the Holy Spirit? How can I know if He is with me or not?"
St. Seraphim began to give him examples from the lives of the saints and apostles, but Motovilov still did not understand. The elder then firmly took him by the shoulder and said to him, "We are both now, my dear fellow, in the Holy Spirit." It was as if Motovilov’s eyes had been opened, for he saw that the face of the elder was brighter than the sun. In his heart Motovilov felt joy and peace, in his body warmth as if it were summer, and a fragrance began to spread around them. Motovilov was terrified by the unusual change, but especially by the fact that the face of the starets shone like the sun. But St. Seraphim said to him, "Do not fear, dear fellow. You would not even be able to see me if you yourself were not in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Thank the Lord for His mercy toward us."
Thus Motovilov understood, in mind and heart, what the descent of the Holy Spirit and His transfiguration of a person meant.

Based upon the reading and the previous four sessions, define with participants what it means to “Let Your Light Shine.” Once they have agreed upon a definition, have them write it in their journals.

We’ve already discussed some of the main ways to put our light out into the world so that others may see it—service, missions, and everyday bearing witness to our faith by good deeds. We’ve discussed the importance of keeping our “lamps” filled with oil—the fuel of wisdom and discernment. This Gospel is also teaching us the importance of keeping that light pure and bright.

The session leader should relate at this time an experience of a time in his/her life when he/she felt the presence of spiritual darkness encroaching — this may be personal and confessional or not, depending on with what he/she is comfortable and able to share. Ideally it should have been a time in his/her life when he/she realized how much he/she needed the Lord and was able to receive help from the Church. Here are some questions the talk leader should keep in mind.

What was it that made him/her feel that their senses were being “darkened”?
What were the signs of the problem? Was it sudden or gradual?
How did he/she eventually recognize what was happening to him/her, and what was the end result?
What role did the Church play in helping to resolve the issue, especially in terms of confession and communion? How did he/she go about seeking and getting that help?

After this talk, have groups break up for small group discussions on this topic.

Activity #2 Small Group Discussions

Why do you think the eye is called “the lamp of the body”? (The main sense of sight, light is processed by the eye, what we know comes through our sense, our eyes reveal a lot about how we feel and think, etc.)
How can what we take in through our eyes affect us positively—how can the eye be good and fill us with light? Give an example from your own life. (We can direct our vision and attention toward God and holy things, and fill our mind with the image of good; we learn about God visually through reading and icons, etc.)
How can what we take in through our eyes (and other senses) affect us negatively—how can the eye become “bad?” Give an example from your own life. (We can also pollute our imagination with images of evil and sin, too much TV/ games/ Internet, too much violence, too much inappropriate junk!)
How can what we express through our eyes reveal what we have inside us? Give an example from your own life. (Not only what goes in our eyes but how we communicate with our eyes matters; “eyes are the window of the soul”; If we glare or give the “evil eye” to someone we reflect the strife and anger within; if we are full of love our eyes also will also reflect that.)
How can we keep our senses pure or return them to their original purity? What sources of help are there for the struggling Christian? (Avoidance of sin, confession, prayer, fasting, spiritual father, youth ministers, retreats, etc.)

Come back and report, focusing on what we can do about the darkening effects of sin in our lives and of which resources we need to be aware. What are the main sources of spiritual impurity and the resources for attaining spiritual purity? Follow up with this concluding discussion:

Have you ever noticed the difference between a sin of which you repent and confess quickly and one that you try to ignore, deny is a problem, or hide from others and even yourself? (The confessed sin does not seem as strong, the hidden sin doesn’t go away but gets heavier, etc.)
Which is it easier to do—either in the short term or the long term? (It may be easier in the short term to ignore our weaknesses and sins but in the long run they catch up and make life difficult and sorrowful. It is best to confess them as soon as possible but to be sure we do so with sincerity or repentance.)
Which is it easier to bear—the weight of the sin or the responsibility of staying true to repentance? (Consider these passages: Hebrews 12:1, and Matthew 11:28-30.)

Spiritually keeping our eyes focused on the light of Christ is what we need to do. Otherwise sin takes over and fills our hearts with darkness. In that darkness, we lose sight of what life is for and what we are supposed to do to fulfill God’s Will. It is essential for us to be watchful that our hearts stay bright!

Activity #3 Prayer as the Path to Pure Light

You may wish to invite a guest speaker for this activity (especially if unable to get one for the previous sessions) that is familiar with Orthodox spiritual life. A priest, monastic, or experienced layperson are all possible resources. He/she should be equipped to discuss the role of prayer in everyday Christian life. Or he/she might be someone able to discuss how prayer can truly make a difference in an extreme circumstance, e.g., a survivor of imprisonment, a confessor of the faith, etc.

At the core of every Christian whose light shines pure and bright is a life of prayer. St. Paul even said, “pray without ceasing,” and some of the saints were given the gift of actually being able to do so! In the end our prayer life needs to be centered on the source of the light: Jesus Christ.

Every Christian should know and practice in some way prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. In Orthodox Tradition, the simplest form of this kind of prayer is known as the Jesus Prayer:

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

The purpose of this prayer is to bring the Christian’s mind to focus on the Lord over and over so that it becomes natural—the best of all good habits. It is easy as we have seen to let sin become the “natural,” habitual way—the default setting of our inner programming, so to speak. The Jesus Prayer contains within itself the simple Truth of our faith: Jesus is the Lord, the Savior, the Divine, and we need Him and His help (mercy)!

You may wish to illustrate the tradition of the Jesus Prayer with the prayer rope, as well as other variations on its usage or similar prayers.

Activity #4 Personal Inventory

Before we conclude our retreat, each one of us should spend the next 10 minutes in silence to reflect on Christ’s light and how it shines within each of us. Looking back on our hopes and prayers, our fears and challenges, what now stands between the Lord and us? What sins do we need to confess and what bad habits do we need broken? What do we need to keep our hearts aflame with the love of God?

Take your time with your journals to answer these questions. During this time of silence, please do not talk to any one. Find a quiet place to reflect on what your life needs to shine with the light of Christ from within.

While participants make their “personal inventories,” if you have not done so, prepare the Church or other location to be used for the retreat closure. If possible, even staff should follow the silence and be models for those who might not find it so easy.

Department of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry
Orthodox Church in America
PO Box 675 Syosset, NY 11791
http://yya.oca.org
yyacm@oca.org

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