Daily Advent Reflection: December 20
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Psalms 24, 29 · 8, 84
Isa. 42:1-12
Eph. 6:10-20
John 3:16-21
Most years besides this, we host some kind of evening “Advent reception” in our home for vestry members and others. It is what you would expect, with a bit of a mid-century twist: fire in the fireplace, aluminum Christmas tree and color wheel in the corner, Bing Crosby crooning in the background, cocktail weenies in the crockpot, and cocktails to hand. In preparation one year, I changed out the lightbulbs in the foyer fixtures in order to create a warm, inviting atmosphere for guests upon entrance. Truth be told, though, dimly lit rooms are also excellent for concealing the less-festive ornaments of dust, wall scuffs, and the fact that we have dogs. At the end of the day, we are not a mid-century family and Alice Nelson does not live with us. Our house, just like our lives, looks different in the light. Our carpets are stained both night and day; it is just that during the day they are seen as such. The light is not the stain. The light is the judgment.
In today’s reading from John’s gospel, it says that “the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” Evil is strong word—one we do not much like applying to people, especially ourselves. We think of folks instead as “not so bad” or “could be worse” or perhaps even “better than her or him”. That is, however, the moral equivalent of lurking in dimly lit foyers. Greed, gluttony, pride, in all of their many manifestations, separate us from God. They separate us one from another and from those referenced by John only by degree, not substance; and because they are such a part of our nature, we cannot always see them in ourselves. As Dr. King wrote years ago, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that”. We need the light.
Perhaps the best gift I was ever given was being encouraged by my earliest Sunday School teachers to memorize John 3:16. For as long as I can remember, in my heart if not in heaven, God has been nothing but love, generosity, truth, and salvation. In other words, Jesus is the light. And if that was not good enough, I was later pleased to discover in verse 17 that Jesus came into the world not to make me feel bad about myself, not to condemn, but to reveal and to save. “Those who do what is true come to the light,” John wrote a couple verses later, “so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
When we invite the light in, we see ourselves more clearly. When we live in the light, we are given the power to change and are set free to serve. And in so doing, we reflect the light to a world yet in love with darkness. Festive foyers are probably good enough (with no offense intended!) for unsuspecting vestry members. Fresh carpet, painted walls, and dustless shelves, seen in the light of the glorious day, is the proper reception for the return of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.
What is it the song says? Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let every heart prepare him room.
The Rev. Scott Seefeldt
Zion Episcopal Church, Oconomowoc