Light
Last night's midnight service was exceptionally lovely, helped in no small measure by the light Colorado snow that added a glimmering sparkle to the lights outside. It was right out of childhood, memories elicited by the sounds of feet stomping off the snow just inside the door, the rustle of coats being shed amid verbal expressions of chilliness, the soft laughter as friends embraced with whispers of "Merry Christmas!", the bell choir sounding forth from the choir loft as new arrivals knelt for a moment of private prayer. The carols were sweet and familiar, the trees softly illuminated; the altar was graced with the usual simple candles and surrounded by a forest of poinsettias, white and many shades of red.
The priest began his sermon by mentioning the earlier children's service. He gestured toward a bank of twenty-six burning candles lit by the children to remember Newtown. He made children the central theme of his message. "When children are afraid of the dark," he said, "we don't turn off the darkness, we turn on the light." An old and familiar message, but phrased with new poignancy.
It gave me much to consider during the hour it took to drive home through the snow. And it occurred to me that we are still emerging from a time in which darkness and fear were studiously manufactured and manipulated, and that much of what we do on these boards has served to 'turn on the lights' for many, many people. For all that our hope has been mocked, last month our determined light sent scurrying many of the purveyors of darkness and fear. That's powerful. Let's keep it going.
And thank you for sharing your light with me.
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