ADVENT II

December 5, 2021

“Out of Darkness, Into the Light”     

Heading into December, and the days grow shorter and darker, we find ourselves a little disoriented by the very limited amount of daylight we experience.  After all, most of us define a day as pretty close to twelve hours of light, and if not bright sunlight, a fair amount of sun filtering through the clouds.  But plain old darkness for the drive home from work or well before the evening meal?  That’s just entirely too much, and the grumpiness or out-of-sync feeling we experience is a real thing — we’re not just being cranky.       

Throughout the Bible, darkness is considered dangerous and frightening, without any positive qualities.  In Genesis 1, we read that the earth was dark and formless, and then God said “Let there be light”; and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good.  (Genesis 1:4)    

From this basic understanding, using the terms of enlightenment, seeing the light, even being the light appear in both Old and New Testaments.  King David wrote, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”   (Psalm 27:1).  The prophet Isaiah told the people of Israel that God’s promised Messiah, a Savior, would come to them:  “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness — on them light has shined.”   (Isaiah 9:2)     

The descriptions of spiritual darkness, and the despair that accompanies it, are as meaningful today as they were over 2,000 years ago.  The leaders and prophets of God’s people spoke of the darkness of the human soul, understanding that the forces of sin and evil will take any opportunity to bring conflict, hatred and pain into the world.  That source of light, sent to battle the evil forces, is the Savior, sent by the heavenly Father to all humanity.       

Jesus himself declared: “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”  (John 8:12).  He then tasks his followers to be that light to all people, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”   (Matthew 5:16).   Being the light sounds like a pretty tall order, but we need to remember that we aren’t the source of light.  We are a conduit, a means by which God accomplishes his purposes.  The light of God’s love shines on us every day, unfailingly, persistently, without limitations, and is both a gift from God and a gift for us to share.       

We are living in a world of fear and anger, of conflict and danger, and all of humanity is wondering if there is any hope, any light at the end of the tunnel.  We may feel that our little voices, our little lives can’t do much to relieve this darkness, but as we come together, letting our lights shine, we are able to bring that light to those in desperate need of the hope and love promised to all people through Christ our Savior.     

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”   (John 1:5) 

Following the light,

Your friend in Christ,

Mary Rogers