On the 1st of December, when I left the house before work it was dark. Walking in the dark, it was easy to slip into dark feelings of fear and sadness. The darkness outside seemed mirrored in the news with stories of war, murder and tragic deaths; cost-of-living crisis, rising energy bills and industrial actions. At work, sitting at my desk in my windowless office, I wondered, ‘Did the sun even rise, or has it been dark all day?
That evening, after walking home in the dark, we huddled in our dimly lit lounge for our final Focus study in the series on ‘Home’. We looked at the description of our perfect eternal home where ‘Night will be no more. They will need no light or lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light’ (Revelation 22:5). I was captivated by the beauty of this description and it’s contrast to my current winter reality. I thought of the light, joy and warmth that comes from a sunny summer’s day (before the sun sets!), which was the closest lived experience of lasting light that I could imagine. I was excited by this future hope but it also left me wondering to myself, if God is light, where is He now in this darkness?
On the 11th December, the Globe Carol service helped answer my unspoken question. Each day, the way we move from the darkness of night, to the light of day, is through dawn – the universal symbol of hope. Because of course even on those dark days where I didn’t see the sun rise, it did. This story written into creation, which I often don’t see, speaks of an even better story. Better even than the best summers day I could dream of.
Isaiah says: ‘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).’ This was prophesied to a people who had chosen not to walk with the God of light, but instead to walk in darkness and to carry their own burdens. Isaiah said that into their darkness a child would be born, a son would be given (Isaiah 9:6).
On the 25th of December, Christmas Day, we will celebrate when Jesus was born into the world to bring God’s light into our darkness. This son, Jesus, is the dawn. He is the turning point between the darkness of this world and the everlasting light of our home to come. Through advent, as I continue to walk to work before the sun has risen, I am being reminded each day that I walk in the light of the son, Jesus, who has already risen!
‘Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness. Opened my eyes, let me see,’ is a lyric from a beautiful hymn that has become my prayer for this season. Whether our eyes see the dawn or not, I’m praying that this Christmastime, our eyes would be opened to see Jesus, the light of the world who overcomes the darkness. He walks before us and has lifted the burdens of darkness, fear and sadness from us. His light has and does overcome all darkness.
‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’ (John 1:5)