When we hear about God loving the world so much that the Son was sent to us so that those who believe may have eternal life, we might feel a sense of joy at how much God loves us and we might be invited to think about how we might respond. Immediately after this pronouncement of salvation, we hear how some people prefer the darkness to the light of Christ. This image of darkness is quite apt as we look at the first reading where the Apostles were shut into the darkness of prison, kept there by those who preferred not to have Christ's light spread. But the reality of this light cannot be contained by human locks, hence the freeing of the Apostles so that they could continue to spread this light.

The Apostles could have run off to a safer place but chose to go back to the Temple to spread the Good News. We're invited to live with the same courage as the Apostles, to stand in the light, unafraid of the possible opposition of the world. We can do this because we're confident of the Lord's love for us and of His constant presence with us. We pray for the grace of courage to step out of darkness into the light so that we may share this light with the world.