Light of the World

 


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 came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.                                

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.             

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

It’s Christmas today, and a lot of Christians have their houses all lit up. We can do this because we have electricity. Most countries in the world are totally electrified these days, and people in developed countries take electricity for granted. However, on the rare occasions when there is a power outage, there is a sense of helplessness and even fear that sweeps over us, because — let’s be honest — it is scary being in the dark. There is often no backup in terms of candles or torches, and even if there was, we risk injury as we stumble around trying to find them. So, we wait for the power to be restored. And eventually it comes on.

Now, while restoring power can bring the lights back on again in our houses — and our Christmas trees — there is another kind of darkness that that electricity won’t dispel. It is spiritual darkness. And most of the world is living in this darkness, stumbling around like blind people, lost in sin. Is there a way out? Yes! We have the answer in what we read today. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.”

Jesus is that light that came into the world. “I am the light of the world,” he would declare later. “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). He is like a candle brought into a dark prison, bringing light to it. He promises a way out of the darkness into the light; out of captivity into freedom. All we have to do is follow him out. Strangely, there are some of us who prefer to remain in captivity, confined in the dark. However, those who follow him now have the light of life. And we have to become the light to those in darkness. “You are the light of the world,” Jesus told us.

Unlike him, however, we have no light of our own. Just as the moon does not have light of its own, but reflects the light of the sun, we have to reflect the light of the Son — Jesus. The closer we are to him, the brighter we will shine. So, as we celebrate Christmas today, the coming of the light of the world, let us remind ourselves that because of him, we have become the light of the world too. The lights on a Christmas tree only brighten up the room; we need to be the lights that brighten up the world. And hopefully, the world will drawn to the light of life.

Wish you a very bright and blessed Christmas.

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here; https://youtu.be/W59yzBL53SA


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