DAY 288
Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic
A series of daily reflections for people of faith
by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor
Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland
pastorrobert@paxpres.org
Week Forty-two Sunday 27 December 2020
Christmas Sunday
Light Enkindled in Our Hearts
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. - The Book of Common Prayer: First Sunday After Christmas
In the prologue to his Gospel John gives a distinctly alternate variant to the Christmas narratives given us by Matthew and Luke. His focus is on the light referenced in the Collect for today.
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.
John 1:1-9 NIV
The second article of the Nicene Creed from 325 AD begins this way:
And we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, begotten from the Father before all ages,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,…
The illuminating of everyone who comes into the world is that general God-given ‘light’ or awareness that God exists. It becomes personal and specific when we accept God’s Christmas gift into our lives, Jesus Christ, “the light of all mankind.”
Reflective question: In what ways is Jesus ‘illuminating’ your life as you seek to follow Him?
Reflective Scripture: John 8:12 – “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Reflective hymn: “Christ is the World’s Light” – Fred Green (1903-2000)
Christ is the world’s light, he and none other:
Born in our darkness, he became our brother;
If we have seen him, we have seen the Father:
Glory to God on high.
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