The Advent
season is upon us, and just in time. One of my favorite preparations for
celebrating Christmas is the hanging of the lights. Christmas lights are the
perfect anecdote for the penetrating darkness of the season.
My need for
light has been heightened this year by recently experiencing a powerful
windstorm, a “cyclone bomb” event. We lost power for 15 hours. Many people lost
power for days. I have a friend in her 5th day without power. It’s
one thing to lose power in the lighter months. But a power outage in November
in the Pacific Northwest is psychologically devastating for many of us.
I am a bit
of a hypocrite regarding darkness. When
power is available, I have been known to walk upstairs and wait until I am
across a room before turning on a light.
I’m often the last one to turn on lights as the sunlight fades. But take
away my option for turning on lights and I become an anxious mess.
My fear of
power outages goes back to a multi-day outage several years ago. We knew a
storm was coming, and so I left school and ran to the store to grab some last
minute items. When I left the store the rain was flooding the parking lot. I
made it home just before the power went out. This was right as school was
letting out for the Christmas break. My home was decorated, and all the houses
around us were lit up, only to go black and stay that way for 9 days. The power
came back on Christmas Eve, after I’d roasted a turkey at a friend’s apartment
who had regained her power.
Mind you, we
have a gas stove top and hot water heater, as well as a wood stove. We could cook
on the wood stove and the gas top. We could take hot, though dark, showers. But
the darkness wore on me day after day. And it was amplified by the season, and
the loss of all the Christmas lights. It didn’t help that our neighbor had a
generator and was all lit up (plus the droning engine noise only reprieved when
he ran out of gas).
So in a very
real sense, I am afraid of the dark, even though when power is available, I
might not even turn it on. There is
something about just the availability of light that makes my world safer. Take
away the power and darkness is no longer my friend.
The Apostle
John writing about the First Advent said that The Light came into the world.
The Light – Jesus. Light and Jesus are
synonymous, as are the world and darkness. Without Jesus, there is no light.
Problem is, we are used to darkness. Our “eyes” have adjusted so we hardly
notice, until something goes terribly wrong and we find ourselves looking for a
light switch that works.
Jesus called
his followers “light”, and encouraged us to be lights in this world. The light
we have comes from his light in us, and it can make a powerful difference. Like
lighting a candle in a dark room.
As I enter
into this Advent season I am thankful for my brief power outage. It made me
reflect on the importance of light in the world. It made the extra Christmas
sparkle and light all the more beautiful. It reminded me that, as a Believer, I
am to be light in this dark world.
John,
speaking of Jesus, said “In him was life,
and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it…The true light that gives light to
everyone was coming into the world, and though the world was made through him,
it did not receive him…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We
have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the
father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:4-5 9-10, 14.
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