In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things
were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light
of all mankind. The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man
sent from God whose name was John. He
came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all
might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the
light.
The true light
that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was
made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his
own did not receive him. Yet to all who
did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become
children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human
decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We
have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the
Father, full of grace and truth.
John
___________________________________________________________
It feels so heavy
this darkness which seems to creep
across this planet
It presses down upon me
Bowing my back
Pressing me down to my knees
Where I can only lament
Out of the darkness I hear the voices
Of those demonized and threatened
Those whom Empire has deemed less-than-human
Immigrants threatened with deportation
Queer people who are demonized and minimized
Trans people who are told they should not exist, who are
deluged with hate,
and whose existence is threatened.
I hear the voices of the poor,
who are getting poorer as wealth trickles up
and of those for whom there is, no longer,
any justice
I hear what sounds like rain
But is perhaps
The tears of Jesus falling
As he weeps over this world
As he wept over Jerusalem
Weeping because we do not see
Do not hear
Do not love
Do not serve
Because we walk down the path toward domination and
wealth,
Instead of the path to the heart of Jesus
To that place where compassion, and service,
generosity and mercy, humility and love
are embraced and lived.
It seems so dense, so pervasive
This darkness
Impenetrable, overwhelming
And yet
And yet
Jesus comes, and comes, and comes again
A light shining in the darkness,
And even as the darkness crushes us to the earth
and so much that is good, dies, and is buried,
we affirm that the darkness has not overcome the light
We affirm that it still shines
We confess that often we struggle to believe
And that all too often we choose poorly
We lament that we do not recognize Jesus when he comes
Embodied in the immigrant,
The poor and the elderly,
In all those we degrade and discard.
We admit that all too often we do not receive
The One who comes
And slide into our own darkness of anger and hate
despair and hloplessness
And yet
The light is not overcome
We must remember that good can indeed come into the
darkness
And transform it
“...new life starts in the dark. Whether it is a seed in
the ground,
a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb, it starts in
the dark.” (Barbara Brown Taylor)
In this dense darkness I can barely stand
My feet are heavy, and the way is hidden
But I believe in the light.
I believe God when God says,
“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along
unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before
them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will
not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42:16)
I affirm the song of Zechariah,
“Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from
heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” (Luke
1:78-79)
The Word has come and has made his dwelling among us
The light, even now shines in the darkness
And when we hear, and see,
When we are awake to the presence
We become the children of God
Light bearers
Who live love and compassion, generosity and kindness
Who shine like stars in the world (Philippians 2)
Welcome to Advent!
