The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
Isaiah 9:2 (ESV)
In this season of Christmas, we joyfully receive Christ Jesus the Messiah, remembering that He came to us in human flesh as a child over 2000 years ago. We rejoice that He also comes to us in the Blessed Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, and daily in His Holy Word, and that He has promised to come again in glory.
Although we had walked in the darkness, we have seen a great light and we walk in the Light, as children of the Light. Desiring to walk in the darkness because of our bondage to sin, we are attracted to what we think will satisfy us in the darkness. We sometimes even think that we can get out of the darkness ourselves. How foolish we are! Wrestling with the forces of the deep darkness, only Christ, our Light, can rescue us and deliver us. Thankfully, He does this through His death on the cross for us and His resurrection. He delivers life to us through our baptisms so that we may walk every day by faith and not by sight. Christ’s defeat of sin and death through His crucifixion and resurrection delivers us into His light where there is peace and hope for each day.
In Christ, then, we are not afraid of the dark. We know that the dark times cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Conquering all forces of evil seen and unseen, Jesus Christ brings eternal light and life to us. His birth undergirds the hope that we have as followers of Christ so that we can face the darkness and the dark times knowing that our Lord carries us through to victory and joy. This does not mean we have to enjoy the dark times in our lives. It does mean, though, that we believe that Christ delivers us from the dark times and gives us courage to continue to serve Him with gladness as we walk by faith in Him.
“¡Atrevete en Cristo!”-- Dare in Christ–that is what we do in the dark because we have been made children of the light. I pray for your boldness, courage, and fortitude this Christmas that, like the shepherds in the dark fields on the first Christmas, you may listen to Christ’s messengers, worship the Lord with sincerity, and return to your work glorifying and praising God for all that you have heard and seen.
Deaconess Raquel A. Rojas
LWML Atlantic District President
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