Advent Day 7, December 7, 2024
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1: 3-4)
You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. (1 Thessalonians 5:5)
Many years ago, early in my ministry, I wrote a study guide for those interested in joining our local church. It covered everything from the historical foundations of our denomination to how we elect church officers, from what sacraments we observe to how we tend to interpret scripture, from what membership really involves to a “Time and Talent” inventory so we could match these new members with their gifts and skills. I was pretty happy with it until I showed it to a spiritual friend who asked, “Did you remind them in here about how much Jesus loves them?”
Long silent pause. Well, that’s just supposed to be assumed, right? “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” The truth is, actually, that I got so caught up in form and function that I neglected not only the most important fact but the only one that matters: God is love, and that love extended to and included them . . . and you . . . and me.
It’s in the “givens” that we sometimes get lost, all of us. “I thought you knew!” we say with wonder or dismay. But if I don’t tell you and remind you that you are loved, and you don’t tell me the same, how are we ever to know? Isn’t part of this waiting for the Christ, the Light, Love to come again into the darkness of our self-doubts and imperfections and loneliness a part of remembering who, and whose, we really are? We are ALL beloved children, each one of us, of God. Of Love. Of the Universe. Of Spirit.
These Advent meditations remind me of the lesson I learned from my study guide of long ago. They mean nothing if they aren’t reminders of Love. They are a waste of my time and yours if we can’t begin to catch a glimmer of the Light within ourselves and within others and somehow learn to shine brightly together.
Blessings and love ~ Rosemary
Photo credit: Unsplash, Casey Horner
Spirit Reflections 
Yesterday I met with a friend over coffee. Uncertainties about our faith crept in just before we left our cafe table. No time to linger but we’ve both thought about this afterwards. Then I read today’s Forward Day by Day reflection (the temptation of falling for the “joy of certainty”) and your post, Rosemary and both give me hope and assurance that there is Light and Love in this world. And yesterday, over coffee, I saw Light in my world.
LikeLiked by 1 person