Dear Friends,
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. That is the promise of the gospel of Christmas Day, the good news we know and share every day. The promise we carry at every carol service, every service during Advent and Christmas when we carry candles in church, it is to prove the good news that Our Lord Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
Look at the flame of a single candle and you see a flame, a light, that is gentle, vulnerable, fragile as our Lord Jesus Christ was himself, gentle, vulnerable, fragile, as a baby. Born as an ordinary baby to show just how extraordinary human life, any human life, actually is. The gentle, vulnerable, fragile baby Jesus, born to show the full potential of human life and love, light in our darkness.
Light, love like a candle flame is gentle, vulnerable, fragile. Carry that light and you are able to see, but only one step at a time. That is what faith is all about, light for one step at a time, you can walk but slowly because the light is gentle, vulnerable but good enough for one step at a time.
The great excitement of Christmas is that Our Lord Jesus Christ, born as a baby, shows God is with us in love, the love we know and share. And the nativity story proves Our Lord Jesus Christ was a human being, not a concept, an abstract idea, human like you and me so that Jesus’ birth reminds us that we are good enough to be loved by Almighty God, creator of Heaven and earth, we are good enough to show God’s love.
God’s love, the Holy Spirit speaks through small, gentle acts of love and kindness, we make ourselves vulnerable. Love is fragile but the human baby Jesus reminds us we are good enough for God to be with us and we are good enough to be with God.
That is our Hope, which shines in the darkness; that is our Hope which darkness cannot overcome, it is gentle, it is fragile, it is vulnerable, but it is real. So real it lights the path of faith, one step at a time to bring Hope, Hope that is good enough to share, to attract.
It is the very gentleness, vulnerability, warmth, that is attractive. Light a candle at home and put it in a window to show God is with us, there is Hope, we are good enough.
Don’t despise candle-lit carol services even on television. In church, look around and see the flickering flames and think every light represents the very wish to perform one small act of kindness, generosity, love this day. Every flickering flame represents a yearning to be more understanding, accepting, loving.
Look around and see how the building is suddenly more attractive, how all those small, vulnerable, gentle flames together have power of illumination, warmth. There is Hope, there we are together good enough to show God’s love which the darkness will never overcome because there is no room for fear in love.
Always remember, it took the might of the Soviet Red Army to build the Berlin Wall. It was demolished by old women and children carrying candles because Jesus THE light shines in the darkness and the darkness, has not, did not, will not, overcome it because God is with us in love, which is good enough, to show our Faith and Hope.
May God bless you and I wish you all a Happy and Holy Christmas
+ Kevin
Glasgow and Galloway
