LOVE’S PURE LIGHT

Take a moment to stop doing all that you think must be done to have a merry Christmas. The greatest gift we can all receive has already been given at the birth of a babe in Bethlehem. Take a minute to turn down the jingle bells and the holly, jolly, songs to soak in the silent night, the holy night. Look past the glare and sparkle of the blinking lights to see love’s pure light beaming from the holy face of grace. 

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Christmas is upon us and Christ brings light and life to a dark and dying world. More than a moment in time past, more than a simple birth, love’s pure light reveals that God is with us. While this baby Jesus is fully human, just like every other baby born in the world, this baby Jesus is also fully divine – God with Us (Matthew 1:23). 

In a mind-blowing way, the manger that holds the baby boy also holds the very foundation of all that is and all that shall be. The writer of Hebrews says it this way: “He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. (Hebrews 1:1-3)  The Gospel of John looks to that manger and sees that in Jesus “the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
 
It makes me wonder if when the shepherds looked deeply into the face of this baby, they could see love’s pure light - all the stars of heaven and the light of the sun reflected in his eyes.  It makes me wonder whether the baby’s cry contained the overtones of the thunder and the rush of wind and water of creation. It makes me wonder if the encounter with the little tike searching for his mama’s breast enveloped all those present with the love that binds the universe together. Even more, I wonder if the light of every star reflected in the eyes of Jesus is a revelation of the divine light that dwells in me at his command.
 
There in the manger God is found. As we sing in the hymn Silent Light, the child in the manger is the Son of God, love’s pure light, radiant beams from your holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace. 
May you encounter the depth of God in Christ and in you this Christmas. May you wonder over the birth of God in our midst. May your life be illumined with love’s pure light.

Pax Christi, 
Tim Olson – Lead Pastor