Advent 2019 #1—Illuminated by Jesus

I am the Light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life. …  The person who sees me sees the One who sent me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me will not remain in darkness.” John 8:12; 12:45–46

When I lived in Colorado Springs, with its 300 days of sunshine, I gazed with wonder at the mountain visible from my back porch. Not one day’s illumination was the same, so no sight of The Peak ever repeated itself. Yet, The Peak was ever there, massive, glorious, unchanging in its essence. They are both necessary, the light and the mountain. Lacking one or the other would not cut my joy in half; it would cause it to cease. For were there no mountain, the light would have nothing to reveal; and were there no light, the mountain would be invisible. Jesus compared himself to light, which means that without his light we cannot see the Father clearly. Apart from a clear vision of God, there is no joy. And, no day goes by (365 days of Jesus’ light) but that his light illuminates a different aspect of God’s glory. As the season of advent begins, let’s use this ode to the Light of Life and the One he reveals to illuminate the days ahead.

You came into a world where people fight
To close their eyes against the light of life;
Then, stumbling in the dark, their souls excite
Themselves to vicious argument and strife.
You came into a world where darkness rules,
Where blind men say they see, and lead the blind
Onto the kind of path that only fools
With willful hearts would fail to see is mined.
You came as light into the darkling world,
Revealing God in ev’ry word and deed,
A spotlight on the glory of his worth.
You came as light into our hopeless world,
So those of us who trust you might succeed,
Might love the light ignited by your birth.