Lean in Toward the Light

Today is the First Sunday in Advent -- the first season of the liturgical year, a season set aside to prepare for the coming of the Christ -- the Annointed One of God -- into the world, surprising us all by arriving as a tiny, newborn child with all the needs, wants and vulnerabilities associated with infancy.

This year, the beginning of Advent coincides with the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah (Chanukah), which commences at sun-down this evening.  Also known as the Festival of Lights, this eight-day observance commemorates a miracle in the Temple in Jerusalem ca. 165 B.C.E., when the Jews under the leadership of Judas Maccabeus took back control of the land of Judah after it had been captured by their then-enemies, the Syrians.

The Temple had been ransacked and the oil for the lamp of Perpetual Light had been defiled.  However, there was a small amount of pure oil remaining -- enough for one day.  When it was lit, a miracle occurred -- for it kept burning for eight days until the supply of pure, fresh oil could be replenished.

The Hebrew word 'Chanukah' (or Hanukkah) is translated as 'dedication'.

At this dark time in our calendar year -- when days grow short and nights, long -- and at a time when it seems our quest for a world filled with peace, kindness, unity and joy is up against equally dark forces of animosity, cruelty, disunity and cynicism, it seems fitting that these two seasons -- Advent and Hanukkah -- should dove-tail.

Christians are called to Prepare the Way of the LORD by re-dedicating themselves spiritually with periods of fasting, prayer, and special contemplation through services of Lessons and Carols -- reflecting not only on the First Coming of Christ, but also on the hope for Christ's Second Coming -- the adventis (Latin) or parousia (Greek), and on the reality of a 'Third' Coming of Christ, which is that He comes to us daily in our hearts.

We light Advent candles each Sunday to mark different aspects of our lives in Christ: hope, peace, joy and love.  Each lighting is accompanied by a special time of prayer.

Just as the Jews cleaned the beloved Temple to banish all marks of idolatrous worship, and returned the Menorah -- the lamp to carry the Perpetual Light -- to its pride of place therein, and just as the miracle of light was wrought, renewing God's presence in their most holy place of worship, so must we take time in the next few weeks to 'clean the temple of our hearts', to rekindle the light of faith, and then go forth into the world with God in Christ's messages of hope, peace, joy and love.

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: 5-9 (NIV) 

Let's lean in toward that light...