Come and See - Pt 6

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5 ESV).

The fifth candle of the Advent wreath, which is optional with some denominations, represents light and purity and is called the "Christ Candle." If it is used, it is placed in the middle and is lit on Christmas Day. It is the central thought of the entire story of the birth of Jesus. In one stroke God is with us! Our reading today is from the perspective of the Apostle John. He does not begin with the birth narrative. He begins with creation itself. He declares the divinity of Jesus without leaving any doubt. He is the Son of God, fully man and fully divine. Imagine the scene with me. The stable falls silent and then, through the pain of birth there is a different cry. It is the tiny cry of an infant, so welcome to the waiting parents, to the laboring mother. Mary breathes a sigh of relief and falls back on her improvised pillow, laughing and weeping at once. As the Joseph wraps the baby warmly and delivers him into Mary’s waiting arms, creation shares in her delight: the wait is over. The work is done. Emmanuel, God With Us, has come. As we reviewed each candle on the Advent wreath this season, we recalled the prophets, the town of Bethlehem, the shepherds, and the angels, all of whom were single lights pointing toward the great light, for “the true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (v. 9). The years chronicled in the Old Testament were tempered with pain. Adam and Eve felt it when they were banished from the garden. The Israelites felt it as they wandered, lost, on the doorstep of the Promised Land. They felt it as they were exiled and, as prophet after prophet cried out against their sin, calling them to repentance. God’s people, his chosen people, turned against him repeatedly, favoring gods fashioned by their own hands, gods that dimmed their eyes and hardened their hearts, making the Israelites more and more like themselves with every sacrifice offered. Creation felt it. Blistered by drought, buckled by earthquakes, submerged by floods, the earth itself groaned under the weight of Adam’s sin, its cycles broken by creation’s disharmony with its Creator. But in a manger outside Bethlehem, a light flickered into being, pushing back the darkness. In that one child, the cry of generations was answered, the promises of Scripture were fulfilled. Though his earthly life had just begun, Jesus’ presence on the earth lightened the darkness, lessened the pain. Relief, at last, had come. This is how we begin the Advent season… knowing Christ is our Savior!