Jesus, Light in the Darkness

Advent has always been important to me as it was an integral and enjoyable part of my upbringing in a Lutheran church. We spent the Saturday after Thanksgiving in an Advent wreath making workshop and worship service and then every Wednesday evening in special Advent services. At home we sang Christmas carols and read a devotion around the Advent wreath nightly. My mother always said that Christmas was depressing if it was just a day to open gifts, but Advent brought joy as it reminded us of the greatest gift of all coming into the world. As I’ve gotten older I am still drawn to Advent even more than to Christmas Day. I think it has something to do with light and darkness. The mornings and late afternoons are both dark now in New Jersey and the lights on my Christmas tree and village bring me joy. But there is something even more special about the flickering light of a candle on a wreath, proclaiming the coming of the light who shines in the darkness and whom the darkness has not overcome. (John 1:5)

This year I decided to host a small Advent silent retreat in my home for the woman of my church. We spent a few hours alone with the Lord, reflecting on Jesus as the light of the world. We prayed for the world, for ourselves, for our friends, and spent time praising and thanking God and sharing with one another. Advent is a beautiful time for reflection, so I have included the Scriptures and questions for this retreat in the Free Downloads, imaginative Scripture section.

I also wanted to share two Advent poems which powerfully express the significance of the light of Christ:

A BLESSING FOR TRAVELING IN THE DARK by Jan Richardson

Go slow

if you can.

Slower.

More slowly still.

Friendly dark

or fearsome,

this is no place

to break your neck

by rushing,

by running,

by crashing into

what you cannot see.

Then again,

it is true:

different darks

have different tasks,

and if you

have arrived here unawares,

if you have come

in peril

or in pain,

this might be no place

you should dawdle.

I do not know

what these shadows

ask of you,

what they might hold

that means you good

or ill.

It is not for me

to reckon

whether you should linger

or you should leave.

But this is what

I can ask for you:

That in the darkness

there be a blessing.

That in the shadows

there be a welcome.

That in the night

you be encompassed

by the Love that knows

your name.

WINTER BENEDICTION

by Malcolm Guite 

When winter comes and winds are cold and keen,

When nights are darkest, though the stars shine bright,

When life shrinks to its roots, or sleeps unseen,

Then may he bless and bring you to his light.

For he has come at last, and can be seen,

God’s love made vulnerable, tightly curled:

The Winter Child, The Saviour of The World.