Fr. Michael Peterson, reflecting on today’s reading from Matthew’s gospel, suggests that the darkness must have been palpable when Herod snuffed out such a great light as John the Baptist. Yet, as Zechariah foretold at John’s birth, he was preparing the way for Jesus: “The dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” We claim these words daily at Morning Prayer, often when the sun rises in the east, giving light to our world. We may ask, “Who am I to be this kind of light?” Lights of any kind are lifesaving in the many storms we face. Light is salvation. Sometimes, we experience the light of other people. At other times, we are called to be a light for others. Fr. Rolheiser writes that we are all called to live in the light, but we tend to have an overly romantic idea of what that should mean. We tend to think that to live in the light means that there should be a kind of special sunshine inside of us, a divine glow in our conscience, a sunny joy inside us that makes us constantly want to praise God, and an ambiance of sacredness surrounding our attitude. But that’s unreal. What does it mean to live in the light? Living in the light means living in honesty, being pure and simple, being transparent, and not having part of us hidden as a dark secret. John the Baptist stands as our witness: It is not the amount of darkness in our world that matters. How we stand as a light in that darkness makes all the difference.