Isaiah 8:22-9:1 22 Then they
will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful
gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness. 9 Nevertheless, there
will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.
Luke 22:52-53 52 Then Jesus
said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders,
who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords
and clubs? 53 Every day I was with you in the temple courts,
and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
As a young boy growing up Advent meant very little to me, certainly not
the preparations for Christmas, the furious shopping or list making or focusing
on hope, love, joy, and peace. My focus was on toy catalogues from
Sears or Eaton’s, practicing for the pageant, being nice to everyone around me
and of course, stringing up the lights around home, and the decorating of the
Christmas tree. One tradition that particularly
stands out was turning off all the lights in the house, including the B&W
TV to ensure total darkness and then turning on the tree to the amazement and
glee of all of us gathered. The tree was
full of colours, bubbling candle lights, and bright angels, casting a warm glow
on the surrounding living room. It was
this light that took away the darkness.
Isaiah spoke of the doom, gloom and
darkness that the earth felt and witnessed.
I wonder how Isaiah foresaw Co-Vid, lockdowns, isolations, quarantines. God promised him light would release his
people and all from this. Jesus told the
leaders the reign of darkness they were in, and merely hours before his own
death upon the cross, the “light of the world” would remove that darkness.
For me, it is those lights on buildings,
trees, advent wreaths, a flickering candle in a singer’s hands, that represent
the “light of the world” that takes away the darkness of sin, strife, pain,
fear, loneliness, disease and suffering .
It is my prayer that each of you reading this embraces the season of hope, love, joy, and peace.
- Michael Larsen