There was a Man sent by God - his name Yoanes. This Man came for bearing witness, that he might bear witness about the Light, in order that men might have faith through it. That Man was not the Light, but came in order that he might bear witness about the Light. It was the True Light which enlighteneth every Man who cometh into the world. ( From the prologue to the fourth gospel, excerpt of a translation of a Greek original by G.R.S. Mead)

An obligation brings me to Las Vegas. This is the second time to visit. It is worse than I remember.

Last evening I walked from the Paris Casino to the Monte Carlo. Small, sharp-eyed men formed a gauntlet offering small cards of naked women, advertisements for strip clubs, escort services, and such.

Discarded cards litter the walk-ways. Totems of a thousand women offer witness to a host of desires: for passion, for acceptance, for yielding, for losing our self in another, for being received by another.

I pass a twenty-something with two snakes tattooed across his broad shoulders. As I step in front of him, I hear him say to a friend. "This is a pit. Why'd we come here? It's worse than Tijuana. We could'a walked through trash in Tijuana."

They keep the casinos dim, perpetual netherworlds of pulsating artificial light. They offer just enough hope to keep you busy gambling. True Light would be distracting.

Dear God, help me to seek out and to stay within your True Light.

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. (John 1: 6-9, NIV)