By Revd David Newlove, Superintendent, Cumbria Circuit and Mission Area Lead for Cumbria
Reading: John 1 v. 5.
‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’
Notes:
What a gift to be given John 1:5 to reflect on. It is a passage from the heart of the prologue in John chapter 1 that means a lot to me, in that even in those darkest moments in life the light of Christ still shines. Sometimes we don’t see it, but it is what we believe and hold on to. In my own experience that light has shone and I thank God.
In this verse there are echoes back to Genesis 1 with the physics of the separation between day and night and the spiritual source that is God. For me, and for this reflection I invite you to focus on the word overcome. It’s an interesting word with a double meaning (very much like the word ‘grasp’ today – something you take hold of or something you understand).
Mark in chapter 9 has a story of a boy with an evil spirit in him that ‘seizes’ him and dashes him down. That’s the same word that John uses here. And in Acts 10 and the story of Peter’s dream (the descending sheet filled with all kinds of food) when Peter says that he now ‘understands’ – that word has the same root.
So, John tells us that darkness cannot extinguish light but neither can it understand it. Apply that to John 12:35 when he invites us to walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not ‘overtake’ you and we start to grasp something of the depth of meaning of John 1:5 and in this lies our peace.
Wonder:
I wonder what difference it would make if every time you switch a light on you reminded yourself of this verse?
I wonder how you will spend time this Advent contemplating on this truth and the peace it brings, reflecting on this question ‘what does this light mean to me and to my current situation?
Prayer:
Preparation: sit in a darkened room with an unlit candle or lamp
Pray:
Heavenly Father,
We thank you for sending your son into the world to reveal to us your light.
Lighten our darkness we pray.
(light the candle/lamp and spend some time praying into the world’s darkness)
Continue:
And as we walk in your light may the peace of Christ be upon us.
(close your eyes and, knowing that the light is still shining, spend some time resting in the peace and presence of God).
Conclude:
(extinguishing your light and in the darkness pray out loud)
Lord, lighten our darkness we pray.
Amen