Most evenings, we take our 11 month old Blue Heeler puppy for
a walk around our neighborhood to help her burn off a little energy before
bedtime. Because our neighborhood is
hilly with winding streets, limited streetlights and no sidewalks walking after
dark can be a bit precarious. So, not
wanting to be run over, we wear reflective orange vests and I wear a “jogger’s
headlight” so we can be seen. Some of
the other walkers in the neighborhood have given us a hard time for our safety
gear, but every time a car visibly slows down when spotting us, I am grateful
for the reflective light.
The Gospel of John tells us that John the Baptist was not
the light, but one who pointed to the light that was coming into the
world. John’s Gospel teaches that Jesus
was the “light that shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome
it.” (1:5) Jesus was the one who,
through his life, death and resurrection, illuminated God’s grace, love and
compassion for a world careening down the hilly, twisting, half-lit streets
where most of us walk as we live out our lives.
Like John the Baptist, we are called to point to the light
that is Christ. We are called to reflect
the light that is Christ into the darkness of our world. We do that by joining Christ in his work of
bringing good news to the poor, releasing the captives, opening the eyes of the
blind, freeing the oppressed and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor. (Isaiah 61, Luke 4) We shine the light into the darkness as we
care for those in need, work for justice and share the grace, love and
compassion of God in word and deed.
December 13th was the annual commemoration of St.
Lucia’s day. This day is a significant
part of the Advent-Christmas celebrations in Scandinavia and in churches that
have their roots in Scandinavia. St.
Lucy (whose name means “light”) is remembered for her martyrdom, and the fact
that she used her wealth to feed and care for the poor, and especially for
Christians hiding in the catacombs during the violent and deadly persecutions
of the Roman Emperor Diocletian in the 4th century of the common
era. December 6th was the
commemoration of St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra. (The saint whose life lies behind the tradition
of Santa Claus). St. Nicholas was a
contemporary of St. Lucia who, like her, used his inheritance to assist the
needy, the sick and the suffering, even as he suffered at the hands of
Diocletian. Their spirit of generosity and giving in one
of the darkest times in the history of the church radiated from their faith in
the Light of the World, who gave himself for the world. Like John the Baptist, both these saints, and
many others (many unnamed) show us what it means to shine God’s grace, love and
compassion into the world.
As we walk with a similar generosity of spirit, letting the
light of Christ shine through us, maybe, just maybe, we will get a few people
to slow down a bit as they careen in and around the twisting, half-lit hills of
life.
Peace,
Bishop Mike.
Pray for light to come…
through us… to all those
suffering in so many ways this Christmas time.
Thanks for reading!
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