At choir practice last night, our worship pastor made the statement that 'This year has gone by faster than any year has ever gone by!' I kinda think I agree with him. I'm shifting all kinds of paradigms now to try and get my spirit, my subconscious, my house and my gift giving preparations all caught up to the fact that it is December 2, the first Friday in Advent.
The antique aluminum tree was the first actual decor of the season that went up at our house. I've had it for about 6 years...it came from a hoarder's stash... but didn't put it up until last year. I was waiting on the completion of the sunroom rebuild. My grandmother had a tree that was the dead spit of this one when I was a kid...and there's just something about it that makes me smile. My Sweet Babboo will put an American Flyer setup under it and our nostalgia corner will be complete.
Now, I've been mulling what to do for this suddenly arrived Advent season. I've done a couple of studies in years past, and I still enjoy reading them. I had an idea for a study this morning, but realized I didn't have enough time to put it together like I really wanted to. Maybe that's next year's plan.
So, this year...it's going to be a little more, um, inspired. And what has inspired my thinking for today is my rather pitiful little aluminum Christmas Tree.
The passage that got my attention today is Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV 84):
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
The Advent season, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, is the darkest season of the year. The days are getting colder and shorter. In the US, we have had an election that has exposed the deep rift in the beliefs and priorities of the populace. Anger has surfaced and has sometimes turned violent. The media, in pursuit of notoriety, sensationalism and the accompanying advertising income, has proven itself untrustworthy to proclaim the truth. Reason and common sense seem to have taken an extended vacation. It is dark in these parts...very dark.
But what does Jesus tell us? To be light. No,wait; that's not quite right. He doesn't tell us to be light, He says we ARE light. Set on a hill. Or, like my shiny tree in the sunroom windows, on display.
But here's the kicker, and this is why the aluminum tree inspired this train of thought...look at that photo. The tree is lighting up the room, not because it is light, but because it is reflecting light.
And the reason it is reflecting light is because it is appropriately located near the source. And I realized that letting my light shine is not so much about doing as it is about being.
Am I positioned near enough to the Source of All Light that I am reflecting that light out into the darkness around me so that folks will know the Source?
No comments:
Post a Comment