THE BOLDNESS OF LIGHT
Far too many of us live in regions flooded by so many lights that we experience light pollution. This experience of light was not part of my life when I was growing up in rural Newfoundland. Back then, we knew very dark nights. We were always told “Be home before dark.” Darkness made rural pathways hard to navigate. In darkness you would never walk alone. Often, we walked arm in arm. If one stumbled, others helped. If one person brought a flashlight, they saw the stumbling blocks and dangers before we did. We depended on them to be a light on a path we could barely see. Eventually, when the first streetlight came to our village, evenings found us as children gathered like playful moths. Our parents always knew where we were when the time came to call us home. That streetlight pierced the darkness as we headed toward the warm and comforting lights of home.
Advent reminds us of the power of light and the weakness of darkness. Light is bold, darkness is cowardly. Light exists in a sense without any awareness of darkness. Light never has contact with darkness. When light exists, there is no darkness.
Darkness, on the other hand is very aware of light. It scatters and hides in the presence of light. Likewise, when we are surrounded by the light of Christ, and we bring that light into our world, darkness and evil scatter and are rendered powerless. When darkness envelopes us, we look for Christ’s light to follow the pathways illuminated and be beacons for others who may be following darker paths and wrestling with more dangerous shadows. The words of the poet Amanda Gorman resonate deep in our hearts, “If you can’t see the light, be the light.” We are light when we are committed to live in hope, practice peace, exude joy and love others with our whole being. These commitments make us light for ourselves and others. After all, each of us is just trying to find our way home.
Having a life is easy, living a life is hard. There are times when shadows can overcome us. We experience traumas, losses, addictions and setbacks. Sometimes we are the victims of violence, gossip and accusation. When surrounded by such darkness, we can only take refuge in the light of God’s love. This refuge so often comes to us through the people God places in our lives. They remind us that we are children of God no matter what is said about us; no matter what we have said and done; and no matter what is done to us.
Throughout Advent, we await the arrival of the Christ light that will dispel darkness, and darkness shall not overcome it. We, as children of Christ’s light can be bold in the light of faith. We can step forward bravely to address hardships in our own life and bring warmth and light to all who suffer hardship in theirs. The darkness shall not overcome us, no matter how powerful it appears. Ultimately, darkness and evil are totally powerless in our lives. Confidence in the light of Christ scatters what seeks to harm and destroy us.
Through the Christmas miracle, we see that God came to all of us in Jesus, the light of the world. This Immanuel, God with us, is a lamp unto our feet and light onto our path. In Jesus, God is our light and salvation. Of whom, or what, should we be afraid as we journey home together?
So we pray…
Holy Spirit, be a light unto my path.
Guide me home to God
so that I can be a beacon to all who need
to find the path to righteousness
and the comfort of God’s care.
Spirit of Light,
disperse the shadows in my heart
that keep me from seeing who
the light of Christ calls me to be.
Spirit of Freedom,
release me from the dark snares and entanglements
that keep me from being the bright light of God’s love.
As I brighten my home for the sacred season of Christmas,
brighten my heart for others to see and give glory to God.
May the light of my faith in Jesus Christ
embolden me to chase shadows away
and send any darkness or evil
scurrying away
in my life,
and the lives of all persons
it seeks to overcome.
Amen.
Michael Way Skinner is a retired Coordinator of Religion, Family Life and Equity with the York Catholic District School Board. He was a contributing author to World Religions: A Canadian Catholic Perspective, and co-authored There Must be a Pony in Here Somewhere (Novalis, 2020) with his wife, Christine Way Skinner. Michael is a public speaker and award-winning educator who is deeply committed to faith as a source for inclusion and justice.
