Have you ever heard the expression “the darkest hour is just before the dawn”? For those who are struggling and fighting with darkness, seemingly wandering aimlessly, the dawn of a new day brings with it a sense of complete utter relief. Darkness is used in film and in literature to represent the unknown, the dangerous, the terrible.
In our own lives, we tend to avoid darkness. When the electricity goes out, we look for flashlights and candles. Darkness deprives us of one of our most prominent senses, the ability to see what is around us.
Isaiah shared this image of the people who walked in darkness seeing a great light, I picture an even greater relief! Those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined. As uncomfortable as we are with darkness, we have faith that SOMONE has light. But here, we see that the nation, the people, the land, was in deep darkness.
But light came to them. Like the dawn, first a glimmer of light - the stories told by angels, then the stories that spread across the land, and then the light himself, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God With Us, who was the light, spread his presence into that land of deep darkness, chasing our the shadows.
Even more importantly, you and I were given the responsibility of carrying that light with us, always and everywhere. At the close of the 9:00 a.m. worship service, we sing “go light your world.” Each of us has been given a lamp, a candle, a flashlight, in the gifts we posses. Just as Christ came to bring the light, he has told us to go and take that light with us. May this Christmas be a reminder that the best gift we have received, and the best gift we can give, is the light of love, hope, peace and joy.
Rev. Alan Williams
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