Christmas Lights

Here is an article I wrote for the local newspaper.  I pray that it helps all of us remember this Christmas to reflect the light of Christ to those we meet.

I can tell that it is Christmas by the lights that have appeared in our neighborhood. As I drive at night, the city is bright with outdoor lights as people take time to decorate. Even the city displays and the displays at the courthouse are lit up casting out the darkness of the shortening days. I also enjoy the Christmas decorations at our church and other churches. As the days grow shorter and the nights longer, it is nice to see the many colored lights and displays throughout our community.

As I marvel at the decorations, I am reminded about how often light is used in scripture to symbolize the power and presence of God. From the very first manifestation of God’s creative word separating light from darkness to the stories of God’s appearances to the people of Israel, the images of fire and light have been prevalent. This imagery continues in the New Testament especially in the Gospel of John. In the first chapter, “Life itself was in him [Jesus] and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it. (John 1:3-4 NLT).” The image extends beyond the birth of Jesus and includes all Christians who often were referred as children of the light.

Christmas is a time to remember that Jesus is the light of the world and we are called to walk in that light. Isaiah 58:10-11 tells how we can live as bearers of that light. “Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day.” Jesus also in Matthew 5:15-16 says, “Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead put it on a stand and let shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Christmas is the time of lights and candles celebrating the coming of the light to us and reminding us as we wait for Christ’s return to reflect that light to others.

Pastor Eldon Davis

Advent

I have been working on my advent series of the ABC’s of Advent.  Last Sunday we discussed waiting and the difficulties we have of waiting especially in our society.  The idea of delayed gratification is often hard to imagine.  Advent is a season of reminding us about gratitude and blessings that God extended to us.  This is the in-between time in our lives.  We celebrate Jesus’ birth and at the same time anticipate his return.  It is a season of preparation and means more than the abject consumerism that is so prevalent. 

As I have had to time to reflect through our Advent bible study and preparation for my sermons, I continue to come back to the idea of being on a journey.  The above image struck me and I realize that indeed I am on the path to Bethlehem.  This journey is the most important journey that I take.  Along the way I find others who are also on the same journey and together we can praise God who came to us to show us the way.

When we tell the story of Jesus’ birth, we need to remember not just the cute manger scene but the circumstances of the time.  Mary and Joseph forced to leave their homes to be registered by the Imperial Rome so that they could collect taxes. Their traveling in the last months of Mary’s pregnancy.  The hardship that they endured forced onto them by a government that was more concerned about what they were able to collect than in the people that they oppressed.

Upon their arrival, there was no where for them to reside.  Homeless and about ready to deliver the child, our Savior.  Can we even imagine the extent of the poverty to which Jesus was born?  Yet, many in the world experience the same poverty, lack of shelter, lack of food, born in environments filthy, crowded, where diseases are rampant.  Not the sterile environment of a hospital.  No wonder so many children died within the first five years of their life.

It is this very world that God came.  Not the palaces, not the temples, not the merchants homes, but in a stable.  This is where we go to worship our Savior.  This Christmas may be a time to remember the story and to reflect on our journey to Bethlehem.  We can celebrate with family and friends, but I pray that we remember the world where too many people experience the same environment that God choose to come to us.