“The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.”  John 1

“When we look into the heart, may our eyes have the kindness and reverence of candlelight.” John O’Donahue

People have begun decorating their homes with lights.  Isn’t it exciting!  Don’t you love driving to look at the lights?  It is a reminder that we are in the season of Advent; one that is marked by both darkness and light. The season Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of the Christ who was to bring light to a dark world; to bring light to our dark lives.

This first chapter of the Gospel of St. John is a reflection of sorts of Genesis 1 which speaks of creation.  Creation begins with darkness, the Spirit hovering over the deep, and then God creating light. 

There are different kinds of light.  As I write this I’m enjoying three types: that created by electricity, that of the slow dawning of the new day, and the light of a fire.  During Advent it is a custom to light a wreath with five candles, all of which remind us of the Spirit of God, that not only fell on the heads of the disciples on Pentecost, but also hovered over the darkness in the first creation.

In the beginning all was darkness. Nothingness. And then God said, “Let there be light” and light came to be.  However God had to separate the light from the darkness.  And it wasn’t until the fourth day of creation that God created the sun and the moon.  I find this fascinating as it mirrors what some scientists believe to be true about what happened with the Big Bang Theory (the actual event, not the television series).  There was the original explosion from a single point, and then a universal soup, so to speak, when all was still dark.  It took about 400,000 years for light to appear, and then after that for the planets in a form in which we are familiar to take shape, thus becoming stars, moon and sun.  The coming of that light brought life.

That is what John is saying when he says that Jesus, the Christ, was the light of the world.  He brought life to the darkness caused and created by sin.  John repeatedly references Jesus as this True and eternal Light.  The light of Christ shone brilliantly, luminously, during His life. People were brought out of the shadows of death, both figuratively and literally, to live in light.  But even in the darkness of His own death the eternal light continued to shine. 

It is no coincidence that the events of Good Friday occurred at night.  Jesus was betrayed at night.  Jesus was put on trial at night.  Jesus was tortured and mocked at night.  And then, as Jesus was attached to cross beams darkness covered the land from noon until three.  But there was another kind of cross beam that continued to shine: the light of God.  The darkness of sin, man’s hatred and all of our hurts could not, and cannot extinguish the light of Christ.  This was proven on the third day, early in the morning, when the light of resurrection; new life, shone brightly.

The light of God shines brightly and brilliantly in Jesus.  I like to think that if we were to look at His face we would see that light in His eyes.  In the past people couldn’t look at God and live, but in Jesus we can.  And even more importantly God looks at us!  We might shirk from this idea, thinking that when God looks at us all God sees is the darkness of our sins and life mistakes.  But that’s not true. When God looks at us God sees beauty.  God looks into us with a loving gaze and sees the beauty that is a reflection of God’s light!  This is how God sees you!  And when we recognize this, God’s Spirit enables us not only to believe in the goodness of God, but in our own goodness as well. And as we believe that we see others in a different light!

This is a good time to consider these two themes of darkness and light, not only in the temporal sense, but in the spiritual one as well.

What is the darkness that we struggle with? 

What light is God shining on our darkness?

How can we see and believe that God sees the beauty of our own light that is a reflection of God’s? 

And how does this affect how we see others, and the world in which we live?

“When we are confined inside the dark house of suffering, may moonlight find a window.  When we become false and lost may the noonday cast our shadow clear. When we love may dawn-light brighten our path so that we might walk upon water.  And as we grow old may twilight illuminate the treasured memories of all our days.”  John O’Donahue