Ben Franklin said one time that he thought the greatest need that people have is light. He said that there is nothing quite as dampening to one's spirit as a gloomy day.  With the dismal winter we have just been through, combined with the heavily rainy spring we have endured recently, probably every one of us is feeling the truth of Franklin's words.

 We crave light. We hate being in the darkness. Ben Franklin knew that to be true, so he had a plan to light up the city of Philadelphia. He asked the leaders of the city to make a plan to put lanterns up on poles throughout the city.  He thought that lighting up the city at night would make the city safer and dramatically more beautiful as well.  The city leaders thought it was a stupid idea. They told Franklin that he was free to persuade the citizens to do so, but the city itself would not do what he proposed.

  Franklin set out to persuade the citizens, but he refused to do so by talking to them. Instead he had a different plan.  He bought the most beautiful lantern in all of Philadelphia and hung it near his front door. He kept the lantern brightly polished and faithfully lit the wick each night at dusk. He never missed a day.

  The citizens of the city who strolled the streets at night could see Franklin's light from far off. They thought its glow to be warm and inviting and they thought it was quite helpful as a landmark. Soon his neighbors began hanging lanterns in front of their homes. It wasn't long before more and more homes were adorned with festive lamps. Philadelphia was soon dotted with hundreds of lights. It was true, people did crave light, and they went out of their way to provide it.

  Jesus too knew that we all crave light. He knew that we all hate the darkness, and he called us to do something about the darkness. He called us to be light.

When the apostles John wrote about Jesus, he describes him as light for the world, a light that shines on in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

   We who are Jesus' followers are called to reflect his light to the world. He told us, "You are the light of the world...no one lights a lamp and then puts it under a bushel basket, no it is set on a lamp stand where it can give light to all in the house. Your light must shine before others..."

  In this Easter season as the days are filled with more and more light, let us remember that when darkness comes, we have the power to overcome it by being what we are called to be...light.