December 16, 2014 – Out of the Darkness

December 16, 2014 – Out of the Darkness
Kazimiera I.H. Fraley

Isaiah 9:1-7 

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.
- Isaiah 9:2

Have you ever been lost in the dark?

When I was small I went to a camp where the bathhouse was down a short path through the woods from the cabin house in which we slept. I can remember walking up that path at 8 years old, in the middle of the night frightened. I was on a path, it was not very far, but it was terrifying. Alone, in the dark, at night. Simply stepping from the darkness of the night into the light of the bathhouse gave my tiny heart much reason to rejoice.

In this passage we are told that those who have walked in darkness have seen a great light. The light I saw was merely the light of the bathhouse but it brought so much joy. What if all your journeys were taken in darkness? What if it was not just a short jaunt through the darkness into the light? What if it was where you lived? What if your whole life was lived along the deepest, darkest path? What if the way I felt as an 8 year old in the dark at night was how we all felt, all of the time?

Think what the light would mean. Think how much joy would fill our lives. We have lived in the dark, in the fear and suddenly there is light. Jesus’ coming is like a light in a world of eternal darkness. Those for whom there was nothing but judgment and destruction, grace and redemption have come. Burdens are lifted, the oppressed are set free. The light, the coming of Christ promises is truly something worthy of joy and rejoicing. As we journey through this season of waiting, let us look forward to the light Christ will bring. 

Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to you.
Make us your own, your holy people,
light for the world to see.

Christ, be our light! Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.
-Bernadette Farrell