[For the rest of 2023 I am planning to share posts focused on Advent and Christmas.]
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (Isaiah 60:1-3 NIV).
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, this time of year has much less sunshine – much less LIGHT – than during the summer. It is darker much later in the morning and earlier in the evening, so we turn on the lights on our cars or in our house more than we might in, say, June. To help counteract this darkness, many people decorate homes with candles in the windows or white or colored lights on the outside. Many families and churches have had Advent wreaths, filled with candles symbolizing hope, joy, peace, love, and Christ. Physical lights help to brighten our world, just as the spiritual light of Christ brightens our hearts and spirits. We need both in this dark world.
Several years ago I came across a blog post about increasing the Light in the world:
“What three changes could you institute that would improve your life? Most people know exactly what they ought to do and what they ought to stop doing that would make their lives better. Which begs the question—why don’t we just go ahead and do these things? The answer is what I call “The Force of Darkness.” Understanding and learning to conquer this sinister force is so important that God introduces us to this primeval darkness and general chaos no later than the second verse of Genesis.
“According to ancient Jewish wisdom, this verse reveals a dark force built into the universe that attempts to combat progress towards improving our lives. This is why it is harder to diet, exercise, and grow thin than it is to sit around, eat, and grow fat. This is why it is harder to save and invest than it is to spend and consume or to educate one’s self and improve one’s career rather than to seek entertainment. This is why self-discipline is harder than indulgence or why it is harder to build a marriage than it is to destroy one. In other words, keeping the flame burning is just plain hard. It is far easier to sit back and allow darkness to win.
“If the problem is darkness, surely the antidote is light—which brings us to Chanukah, the festival of light…
“Many mistakenly think that Chanukah is an annual holiday celebrated by playing silly games while eating oily potato latkes. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, just as ranchers must vaccinate their livestock each year to keep them healthy, Chanukah is an annual vaccination of light to keep ourselves healthy enough to dispel darkness.
“…The message of the 36 bright flames [on the Menorah candles], increasing by one each night, is that you dispel darkness by achieving just a bit more today than you did yesterday. Remaining in one place is just a slower way of moving in the wrong direction. Staying the same is an illusion, not reality. That is simply the way God created the world.” – Rabbi Daniel Lapin*
The Chanukah festival remembers a time when God miraculously provided enough oil for the lights in the Temple to burn for not just one day, as expected, but for eight. Jews (and some Christians) celebrate God’s providence each year as they remember this miracle. Christians celebrate God’s sending the Light of the World (Jesus) to us each year at Christmas. We humans need these “annual vaccination[s] of light to keep ourselves healthy enough to dispel darkness” to show that “The [L]ight shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5 NIV).
As the Christmas celebrations continue for this season, may we not lose the Light within us, but may it keep us healthy enough to dispel darkness.
Light of the World, You stepped down into darkness, drawing us to your grace, coaxing us to become your Children of Light. Thank you for this gift of grace given. In this season, help us to come to you in humility and honesty to reflect on our lives, confess our sin, and obtain your forgiveness. We want to be in the Light as You are in the Light and shine like the stars in the heaven. We want to be the face of Light in a word strangled by darkness, hopelessness, distraction, fear, greed, illness and death, cruelty, hunger, and so much more. Help your children in all places to be the face of Christ – the light of Christ – in a dark and dreary world. Hush the noise of strife in our world, and help us to hear the angels’ song and to sing with them: Glory to God in the Highest! Glory to God! Amen.
“But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” (John 3:21 NIV).
“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3 NIV).
“[H]e who appoints the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar—
the Lord Almighty is his name…” (Jeremiah 31:35 NIV)
(*https://rabbidaniellapin.com/hey-buddy-got-a-light/)