Illumination and Revelation

Προσέλθετε πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ φωτίσθητε· καὶ τὰ πρόωπα ὑμῶν οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ. Τοῖς καθημενοὶς ἐν σκότει καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου, τούτοις παρακελεύεται προσελθεῖν τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ ἐγγίσαι αὐτοῦ ταῖς ἀκτϊσι τῆς θεότητος, ἵν' ἐκ τοῦ προσεγγισμοῦ ἐλλαμφθέντες τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, χάριτι τὸν φωτισμὸν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἑαυτοὺς χωρήσωσιν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ αἰσθητὸν τοῦτο φῶς οὐ πᾶσιν ὁμοίως ἀνατέλλει, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἔχουσιν ὀφθαλμοὺς, καὶ ἐγρηγορόσι, καὶ ὑπ' οὐδενὸς κωλύματος ἀπολαύειν δυναμένοις τῆς τοῦ ἡλίου ἐπιδημίας· οὕτω καὶ ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιος, Τὸ ἀληθινὸν φῶς, ὅ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνωρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον, οὐ πᾶσι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φαιδρότητα χαρίζεται, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀξίως αὐτοῦ πολιτευομένοις. Φῶς, γὰρ, φησιν, ἀνέτειλε μὲν ὁ ἥλιος, οὐχὶ τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ, ἀλλὰ τῷ δικαίῳ. Ὡς γὰρ ἀνέτειλε μὲν ὁ ἥλιος, ἀλλ' οὐχὶ ταῖς νυκτερίσιν, οὐδὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις ζώοις τοῖς νυκτινόμοις· οὑτω καὶ τὸ φῶς τῇ μὲν ἑαυτοῦ φύσει λαμπρόν ἐστι καὶ φαιδρυνικόν· οὐ πάντες δὲ αὐτοῦ τῆς λαμπηδόνος μεταλμαβάνουσιν. Οὕτω καὶ Πᾶς ὁ τὰ φαῦλα πράσσων μισεῖ τὸ φῶς, καὶ οὐκ ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸ φῶς, ἵνα μὴ φανερωθῇ αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα. Προσέλθετε πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ φωτίσθητε· καὶ τὰ πρόωπα ὑμῶν οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ. Μακάριος ὁ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ Κύριος φωτίσαι τά κρυπτὰ τοῦ σκότους, καὶ φανερῶσαι τὰς βουλὰς τῶν καρδιῶν, τολμήσας ὑπὸ τὸ φῶς ἐκεῖνο τῶν ἐλέγχων γενέσθαι, καὶ ἐπανελθὼν ἀνεπαίσχυντος τῷ ἀμόλυντον ἔχειν τὸ συνειδὸς ἀπὸ πονηρῶν ἔργων. Οἱ γὰρ τὰ φαῦλα πράξαντες εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν καὶ αἰσχύνην ἀναστήσονται, ἐνορῶντες ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὸ αἴσχος καὶ τοὺς τύπους τῶν ἡμαρτημένων. Καὶ τάχα φοβερωτέρα τοῦ σκότους καὶ τοῦ πυρὸς τοῦ αἰωνίου ἡ αἰσχύνη ἐστὶν, ᾗ μέλλουσι συνδιαιωνίζειν οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ, ἀεὶ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἔχοντες τὰ ἴχνη τῆς ἐν σαρκὶ ἁμαρτίας, οἰονεί τινος βαφῆς ἀνεκπλύτου, τῇ μνήμῃ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς παραμένοντα. Ὁλίγων δέ ἐστι τὸ προσελθεῖν τῷ φωτὶ τῷ ἀληθινῷ, καὶ ἀποκαλύψαι, καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἀποκάλυψιν τῶν κρυπτῶν, μὴ ἀπελθεῖν αἰσχυνθέντας τὰ πρόσωπα. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΛΓ' Ψαλμον

Come to Him and be illuminated, and your faces shall not be confounded. 1 Those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death are exhorted to come to the Lord 2 and to draw near to His divine rays, that by drawing near they be lit by the truth, by grace receiving His light, for like the material light it does not come to everyone alike but to those who have eyes and who are watchful, and who are without any impediment that they might be able to see the presence of the sun. So even comes the sun of righteousness, 'The true light, which illuminates every man coming into the world'.  3 Not to everyone is His splendor given but to those who are worthy to receive it. 'For the light,' it says, ' has risen' not on the sinner, but 'on the righteous'. 4 For as the sun rises, but not to those dwelling in the evening, nor to any of the animals that wander at night, so even His light, which like natural light illuminates and is splendid, but it is not that everyone may participate in its clarity. So even ' Everyone who does evil, hates the light, and he does not come to the light, that his works may be made manifest' 5 ' Come to Him and be illuminated and your faces shall not be confounded.' Blessed the one who on the day of the righteous judgement of God, when the Lord comes to illuminate all things hidden in darkness and to make manifest the counsels of the heart, dares to come into the light of examination, and does not turn away on account of shame, who does not have a conscience contaminated with depraved works. For those who have done evil will arise in blame and disgrace and on them will be seen the marks of their sins. And perhaps more fearful than eternal darkness and fire is the disgrace, that sinners ever being together shall have always in their eyes a covering of sins on the flesh, like a dye that will not fade, which will remain without cease in the memory of the soul. Few indeed are they who will come to the true light, and be revealed, and after the revelation of hidden things, will not go off with their faces disgraced. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 33 1 Ps 33.6 2 Lk 1.79 3 Jn 1.9 4 Ps 96.11 5 Jn 3.20