As many of you know, because of my Jewish heritage (on my mother’s side), we light the Chanukah candles as many nights as we can during the eight days of Chanukah. As we do, we pray not only one of the traditional prayers, but also our own prayers thanking God that the candles of the menorah remind us that we serve a God who intervenes in our lives, who works miracles on behalf of his people, and who shines light into the darkness of our world. And then, probably to the chagrin of most Jewish people, we thank God for sending Jesus, the light of the world! It’s our way of bringing together our Jewish heritage and our faith in Jesus.
Last week, after I had lighted the Chanukah candles, I sat looking at the flames burning and then at the lights of our Christmas tree. I then looked outside at our house and others on our block that were decorated with all kinds of lights. As I did, it crossed my mind how interesting it is that we celebrate these holidays that are filled with light, just when the days are getting shorter and darker. As we find ourselves being surrounded by nature’s darkness, we light menorahs, each night with increasing light, and/or light up a Christmas tree, our houses and front yards, and Christmas candles. In fact, it seems to me that some of their impact would be lost should we be lighting candles and trees and houses when the days are long and the sun is still shining (as may be the case for some in the southern hemisphere of our earth). After all, for light to make an impact, it must be dark. And in fact, the darker it is the greater the light’s impact.
The prophet Isaiah wrote, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9:2 – NIV) God was promising a day when his light would break into the darkness of a world filled with sin, violence, and strife…light that would come through the birth of a child who would be the promised messiah. Of course, we who are Christians believe that the one who was prophesied to bring that light was none other than the one whose birth we celebrate this time of the year, Jesus. It was he who said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12 – NIV)
So, as the days get shorter and darker, rather than complain about how early the sun sets, let’s turn our attention to the brightness of the lights around us—lights that remind us of a God who knows really well how to bring light into dark places. More than that, when we begin to sense that darkness is beginning to invade our lives, let’s look to the One whose light is able to pierce through even the darkest of nights.
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3 – NIV)
Have a great day!
- Pastor Tim Harris
Comments
Post a Comment