”Light” Advent Devotion for December 17, 2021

Light

Writtern by Roger Becker, Retired UM Clergy

Read by Marcia Flaherty

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it. 

-- John 1:5

 

At Christmas time I find joy in all the lights decorating homes in the neighborhood. They lift my spirit like sunshine breaking through the clouds on a dreary day. When the lights are turned off and taken down after Christmas and the streets are dark and the nights are long, I do not feel the same sense of joy and optimism.

While light from the sun and Christmas lights energizes my spirt (and the solar panels on our roof), this verse reminds me that God has given us another light to energize our lives and that light illuminates the darkness and it cannot be extinguished.

While the times may seem like dark ages with a resurging pandemic, rampant racism, homelessness, violence, wildfires, destructive storms, and a host of other problems I find the light of Jesus Christ shining in our community and the world. It energizes believers in Jesus Christ to be light in the world with compassionate caring, healing help, generous sharing, words of wisdom and truth, forgiving grace and love, a passion for justice and peace, and in countless other ways.

God, the source of light that shines in the darkness, may our lives reflect your light illuminating the darkness wherever it may be. In the name of Jesus Christ, the light of the world.  Amen