One little story from Tony Campolo has a child Jesus creating a flower, admiring the beautiful little flower and saying, "again!" Another flower appears, as beautiful as the first! When we would read to our children, and it was a book they liked, they would say, "again!" Sometimes, because we are led to see the darkness in this world, we forget that little thing about God ... that God is into doing great things again.
This Sunday we will begin Advent remembering the prophetic word of Isaiah, "The people who walk in darkness will see a great light, those who live in a land of deep darkness will see a light will shine (Isaiah 9:2)." I wonder if God is saying ... "remember what I have done before ... remember the creation story where I spoke light into being 'ex nihilo (from nothing)' ... remember I have power over the darkness." God does it again and again!
Human history has experienced various periods of darkness, and to be truthful, somewhere in the world there is a pall of darkness hiding good and light. You see and hear of those places as you listen to the news. You wonder if we are that land as you see terrible events like the Parade Killings in Wisconsin. And you/we have a propensity to think things are a bit hopeless. But then God reminds us ... "you will see a great light!" God gives hope!
What can we learn from Isaiah's familiar words? First, stop walking in darkness. 1 Thessalonians 5:5 reminds us ... "you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to the darkness and the night!" Let's follow God and walk where we belong, walking in light and leading others to that light! We bring hope!
Second, darkness might be a place to enter so we can rescue others, but it is no place to live. Ephesians 5:8 says, "for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." The Lord has come to all who call His name, so we live in the light of the Lord! We live out hope!
Finally, we (as people of Jesus), are people who see things. We perceive and see both the darkness and the light. We look for God's leading which always brings us to the hope of light. We see hope!
All of this is why we, as the Church, must relearn the virtues of hope and light. We should be the people who are known for positives ... not negatives ... hope, not hopelessness ... light, not darkness. God has told us this in His word again and again! God has spoken light, even from the nothingness of the primordial void! God can (and will) do it again! AMEN
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