Advent is About Light

I belong to a liturgical church. Each liturgical year begins with Advent, the weeks with the shortest amount of daylight.

Each week, we remind ourselves of our story and we share a meal. During Advent, we light one additional candle each week as we anticipate and prepare ourselves. The number of lit candles increases each week to remind us that Advent is about light.

We read that, in the beginning, darkness was on the face of the deep until God spoke light into existence. We read that a pillar of fire lit the way in the darkness and the wilderness. We read that people walking in darkness have seen a great light. We read that light has come into the world, and the darkness could not overcome it.

During Advent, as the daylight gets shorter, the light in our church gradually grows brighter, one candle at a time.

I live in a place of abundant sunlight. Each Sunday morning during Advent the sun shines through one of the stained glass windows to throw colors on the carved white stone of the reredos behind the altar table. The vibrant reds and blues from the windows, like many other aspects of the church, remind me of our shared story. The light brings the stone, the structure of the building itself, to life. When I begin to wonder about finding the Holy in everyday life, the light reminds me that there is life even in the stones.

As Advent continues, the glow begins to spread. The story is within our hearts, and the light shines into the darkness. Each of us shares our light with the people around us, and the light brings the world to life.

Can you see the light growing in the darkness?

Is the light of dawn bringing your world to life?

[Image by fiomaha]