I have an odd way of thinking about the quality of goodness.
In my mind, I have an impression of the earth spinning in space—the photo we’ve all seen so frequently taken from some satellite circling our planet. An exquisite globe shimmers in the dark, turning and turning. Blue mostly, vast seas accented by green and white with pinpricks of lights shining out through occasional cloud cover, across thousands of miles of dark. I know these are cities and towns glowing on the surface of our planet, but I prefer to think that these points of brightness mark an act of kindness here, a gift of sacrifice there or initiatives of uncommon goodness everywhere.
Perhaps this is purely fanciful, perhaps it’s imagination gone awry, perhaps it’s an artistic vision given for the purpose of prayer—or maybe, it’s just an old woman’s meanderings. However, it seems as though my mental fancy has some precedent.
The term “one thousand points of light” was used in a speech by George Bush at the 1988 Republican National Convention when he accepted his party’s nomination for president. He likened America’s social and volunteer organizations to “a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.”
Before this, in the book You Can’t Go Home Again (1939), Thomas Wolfe lovingly describes the spirit of America saying, “It’s your pasture now, and it’s not so big—only three thousand miles from east to west, only two thousand miles from north to south—but all between, where ten thousand points of light prick out the cities, towns, and villages, there, seeker, you will find us burning in the night.”
The theologian C. S. Lewis employed a similar phrase in his 1955 novel The Magician’s Nephew in which he wrote: “One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leaped out.” In 1917, H.G. Wells three times states another variation of this in Mr. Britling Sees It Through: “But never was the black fabric of war so threadbare. At a thousand points, the light is shining through.”
So perhaps, with these literary precedents, the vision in my mind of a spinning earth with points of light representing each act of goodness is not so fanciful after all.
Advent is the season in liturgical settings that marks the beginning of the yearly calendar of the church, which helps Christians observe holy holidays by preparing them for Christmas, for Lent, for Easter and for Ordinary Time.Gospel for Asia (GFA) and its field partners celebrate Advent; and in our house, I try to set a traditional Advent wreath on the table before the fireplace in the living room as a reminder that Christmas is coming.
One of the things I appreciate about the liturgical systems is that Christians, all around the world, read the same lectionary, celebrate the same holy seasons, and many of them light the five candles of Advent in each home, on some table, around some kind of wreath from time zone to time zone to time zone. Think of it: African Christians, Asian Christians, Indian Christians, Russian Christians, Greek Christians begin to set themselves aside to get ready to remember the first coming of Christ, or His advent here on earth.
Pinpricks of light, if you will, in home after home reminding us to be still, to examine the condition of our souls, to not give into the frenzy of secularization, to anticipate the birth of a baby, God incarnate through some unfathomable mysterious act we can barely comprehend, candles warm and waxy and glowing reminding us to bow in holy awe at this Christ-gift, this ineffable evidence of love. “Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5 (NIV)
You may not be familiar with liturgical practices or you may have little knowledge of the church calendar. This could be a rich learning journey for those who seek to research the meaning of the Advent season—Advent Sunday One, Advent Sunday Two, Advent Sunday Three, Advent Sunday Four, Christmas Eve, then Christmas, and then twelve days later, Epiphany. The Internet is free, available and a rich resource of knowledge for those who seek; take some time to learn a little bit more about this season.
For all, however, it might be good to consider what holy acts of kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity and shared wisdom do to tip the atmosphere of our world. It is my belief that tenderness toward even a little child, care for an elderly friend, a soft word in a conflicted environment, the gifts of laughter and joy, these all shine in the darkness—in some way, some how, beyond our knowing—and the darkness cannot overcome it.
Perhaps the greatest gift we can give to one another at Christmastime is the gift of being good to one another.
The week of this writing, I am putting aside the morning to run into Chicago, catch the suburban train to Ogilvie Station, walk a few blocks in the cold to meet with a young couple who attend our inner-city church and to spend some time with them because I care about them and their marriage, which is in big trouble. Then I will walk back to the station, praying in my heart that God will intervene for my young friends, catch the train back home, hopefully in time to make a 2 o’clock dental appointment.
Why put myself out? Because I believe that acts of goodness make a difference, somehow, in the balance of the world. I like to think they shine like pinpricks of light that can be seen from thousands of miles in space. And it appears that former president Bush thought so, as did C.S. Lewis, Thomas Wolfe and H.G. Wells.
Why make this effort? Because a young couple is in trouble, and the season of Advent is approaching. My time and effort is the greatest gift I can give to them. There are more ways to light an Advent candle than we can fathom.
Who knows how far the light of one small act of love can shine?
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