Br. Curtis Almquist

John 1:1-18

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world…”  John 1:1-18

Light. Light. Light. Light. Light. Light. Light. The word “light” is repeated seven times in these opening verses from the Gospel according to John. Light! We have here many candles lighted to adorn our crèche and chapel. And when we go outside we see lights strung across the streets, on lamp poles, in shop windows, and on the gables of houses here in Cambridge and in so many places across the States and beyond this time of year. These lights we see most everywhere this time of year actually have a Christmas history, but probably not a Christian origin.

The reason why Christmas came to be celebrated on December 25th is probably because the Roman Empire. The early Christians wanted the date of Christ’s birth to coincide with the festival of the Roman Empire on December 25th: natalis solis invicti, “the birthday of the unconquered sun.” This Roman festival celebrated the winter solstice, when the days again begin to lengthen, and the sun rises higher in the sky: the solstice on December 25th! And so light has figured very importantly to Christians from the beginning. In the Gospel story, we remember how the shepherds and, later, the Magi, found their way to the Christ child by the starry light at night. The Gospel writers remembered the adult Jesus saying of himself, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”[i] The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews remembers Jesus is lighted with a “reflection of God’s glory.”[ii]

So we can string the tradition of lights this time of year back to early centuries that predate the birth of Christ. Whether or not we consciously understand the history and symbolism of this festal light, we do innately crave light. Whether we suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, or whether we are afraid of “things that go bump in the night,”[iii]or whether we sometimes feel that we are “in the dark” about the mystery of our own life, we crave light and enlightenment, especially some seasons of our lives. The candles and strands of light we see most everywhere this time of year are reminders of how common and how deep this craving for real light actually is, and to the depths of our souls.

Here are some word pictures about the importance of light, from the beginning:

Your own life is a Christmas gift from God, and to God, and to God’s world. Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. …Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”[viii]  If you were to say, there doesn’t seem to be much light in me right now… you might be surprised.  In a dark place, even a little bit of light will have a brilliant effect.

If this Christmastide you are asking the question, maybe desperately, whether God is with you, I suggest you rephrase the question. The question is not whether God is with you, but how God is with you? Because God Emmanuel is with you, and with the rest of us, whether here, or near, or far away, all around this world. Whether the landscape of your soul is brightly illuminated just now, or whether you are temporarily blinded by more light than you can bear, or whether the darkness just seems to loom large, God is with you. You just wait and see.

[i] John 8:12.

[ii] Hebrews 1:3.

[iii] From an anonymous Scottish prayer c. 1800: “From ghoulies and ghosties and long leggety beasties, and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us.”

[iv] Genesis 1:14-19.

[v] Psalm 4:6.

[vi] Ephesians 3:14-21.

[vii] Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), a Doctor of the Church, was a German abbess and active as a writer of poetry and on medical practice, a music composer, a philosopher, and a mystic.

[viii] Matthew 5:14-16.

[ix] “The Dark Night,” in The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, trans. Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD (1991); from bk. 1, ch. 8, #1, p. 375.