When Jesus came into the world, times were pretty dark.
Mary and Joseph lived under the oppression of the Romans, a civilisation that ruled with an iron fist. Their journey to Bethlehem was at the command of the Roman leadership, and they travelled to take part in a census that would ensure they paid their fair share of taxes.
This world wasn’t one filled with the light and life we hear about in our carol for this week, ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing.’
We’ve all had those moments where we’ve been in darkness, and someone has turned on the light. It could be at the end of a film at the pictures, a performance at the theatre, or an early wake-up call when we’d rather be sound asleep.
The light floods our senses; it expels the darkness.
We read in Luke’s account that the “messenger of the Lord stood in front of the shepherds, and the darkness was replaced by a glorious light – the shining light of God’s glory.”(Luke 2:9)
Cowering in fear the shepherd’s anxieties were taken away by the reassurance that the light was the promised Anointed One. At that moment, the heavens filled with song. The whole whelkin, the angels, the stars, and the heavens celebrated the birth of Jesus.
The shepherd’s lives were changed by that light, and they travelled to meet its source.
They rushed to Bethlehem, found Jesus lying in a manger, and worshipped him, the light of the world.
In the Voice translation, John 8:12 says this:
Jesus: I am the light that shines through the cosmos; if you walk with Me, you will thrive in the nourishing light that gives life and will not know darkness.
John 8:12 (VOICE)
Oh, to thrive in the nourishing, life-giving light of Jesus. This is the light that we sing of in the carol ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing.’ It brings light and life to everyone.
The light of Jesus shines in every corner of this world. It shines in the midst of financial difficulties, grief, conflict within families, the climate crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, and any of the other crises we keep hearing about in the news. It is the light that shines through the cosmos and is as available to us as it was to the shepherds all those years ago.
It’s a light that brings life to everyone.
Once the shepherds had discovered this light, they didn’t stop there. “They spread the story of what they had experienced and what had been said to them about this child.”(Luke 2:17) They didn’t keep the nourishing light of life to themselves. They shared it with others, and the Bible says that everyone who heard the story couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Throughout the week, the soulwithaview social media pages will give you an opportunity to reflect on some key questions about the light of Jesus.
What is your experience of the light of Jesus?
What part of your world needs the light of Jesus right now?
How can we bring the light of Jesus to others, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year?
I pray that each one of us will experience the life-giving, nourishing light of Jesus in our lives and do everything we can to share that light with others.
Kay Moorby
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