I have battery operated candles in my bedroom that, for the most part, look like real candles. They emit a soft flickering light but they won’t burn down my apartment when I inevitably leave them on all day. They are some of my favorite things in my room. The way their light gently cuts through the darkness, stretching as far as it can. The candlelight doesn’t overwhelm the darkness, but tenderly moves it to this side and then the other with each bouncing flicker. A dance of polar opposites but each one complementing the other. The darkness makes the light shine brighter and the light deepens the darkness closest to it.

Advent is my very favorite time of the year. A time where the church waits for the Light to come with expectancy and hope. We wait, and we hope, even in the midst of despair and darkness because we know the Light will come. But like the gentle glow of a candle, this Light does not overpower the darkness. It persistently breaks through the darkness with gentleness and tenderness, illuminating our way through it.

The first chapter of the Gospel of Luke concludes with these words:

Because of the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:78-79)

It is a brave thing indeed to actively hope for the light when we’re surrounded by the dark. The Light will come because it always has. It will shine in the midst of darkness bravely and persistently, because that is what Light does.

Peace be the journey this Advent season.