We gather around the wreath and light the second candle. The light has doubled now, pushing back the dark around us.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. -Isaiah 9:2
Good things are hard to see in the dark.
Imagine a handful of hungry people in a huge ballroom with no light. Somewhere in the room there is a small table with bread and wine. What are the chances that they’ll find it?
One of the great wonders is that our awesome and infinite God often chooses to reveal himself in the finite, the insubstantial, the easily overlooked.
The cry of a newborn baby in a stable.
Bread and wine on a table.
So easy to overlook.
And so it is in every moment of every day. God is here, inhabiting the small and the humble. But we hurry from moment to moment and forget to see. We forget to dwell now, be still, know God.
But God, in his mercy, was not content that we should rush past him, so he lit a star.
The star which they had seen at its rising went ahead of them until it stopped above the place where the child lay. At the sight of the star they were overjoyed. -Matthew 2:9-10
This Advent we celebrate the grace of a heavenly father who sets a candle on the table that holds the bread of life. So that we, huddled in the darkness, can run to him unafraid. We can eat and drink and be filled.
At the sight of the star we are overjoyed. For it is a sign of mercy, of grace, of love. We are not left to wander in darkness.
May your light shine in each moment of each day, and may Christ be seen in Christmas.
A link to more blogs about Advent.
