Dec 9, 2001
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December 9, 2001 1. John 1:5-10 Let us walk in the light and carry it into the world. When God created heaven and earth, the first act upon earth was the production of light. Everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the power of God was moving over the water. Then God commanded, "Let there be light", and light appeared. God was pleased with what he saw. Then he separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:2-4) The light was an act of creation. The Creator generated the light as an extension of himself who is the light and in him there is no darkness at all. When the people of Israel left Egypt and walked their way to the Promised Land "the Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, and during the night he went in front of them in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel night and day. (Ex. 13: 21) And in the middle of the silent night an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. (Luke 2: 9) The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world! "What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it". (John 1:3-5) Jesus himself said; "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." John 8:12. The life journey is a journey toward the light. The Advent journey toward Bethlehem is a journey toward the true light of all people. As travelers we step out toward Bethlehem this year and it is good to take time to examine what is packed in the suitcase. Items hidden there from last year and maybe from many years of hurts and wounds, pain and anger, love and hate. We have to empty the old case and pack a new one and say good bye to something to start travelling in the light. Life is always a departure and a new orientation. We need to cleanse our expectations of the journey, open ourselves to God’s itinerary and walk in His light. We are challenged to leave behind what is from darkness, and take up what is from light. Our Advent journey must be targeting. Our task and our privilege is to follow the true light and to carry the light into the world. I think you could hardly think of anything more beautiful than what we could watch a few minutes ago, the procession of the wonderful kids singing and carrying lit candles! This singing and carrying lit candles is a kind of symbol to what our life is meant to be. We are supposed to sing joy to the world and to share with each other the light we have received and to carry forward the light into the darkness around. It is much better to praise the light than to curse the darkness. From the media and from people’s everyday talks we can find a lot of pessimism and negative messages and from what is going in culture and society we realize the destructive powers and actions of evil. In all these words and actions of darkness we are called to follow the path of the light. It is better to light up the light than to curse the darkness. The Gospel of Jesus Christ provides the true light and we are asked to carry this light from God in our everyday life and bring it into the entire world. Let us pray.
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The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716 |