Light Breaking Into Darkness, Advent Hope, and Christmas Joy (and a bit of Charlie Brown)

One of my favorite memories of Christmas as a child was seeing light breaking into the dark. I can see it now. As a child, there was this plug in candle set that my mother would place in the window of our guest bedroom facing the front yard and the street. It was an old electric candle set that was probably made in the 1950s or 60s. I seem to remember the bulbs being blue, but they could have been red. Its a bit weird that I don’t remember the color exactly. But, what I do remember is going into the room with the lights off and looking out of the window into the dark with the fog on the windows and that small candles set glowing. The house was warm inside, but the night outside was dark and cold. I’d go into that room and put my elbows on the window sill and look out into the night, drawing little scenes onto the fogged up window with that electric candle next to me giving off light. 

Because that electric candle set was in the window of that spare bedroom, that meant that room was part of Christmas. The room was included in the festivities because it had that slight, small decoration. I think I used to want to keep it company, to go into the room and look out the window with it. Someone needed to be there, to keep watch, to draw pictures in the fog on the glass. To sit there and wait in the darkness and cold for Christmas to come with the small lights shining out of that window, celebrating all on their own.

Of course, one of my favorite Christmas shows that we would watch on TV each year was "A Charlie Brown Christmas" from 1965. And, my favorite song was the haunting "Christmas Time Is Here" sung by the St. Paul's Episcopal Church Choir from San Rafael, California. I'd go into that little spare room at night, and if music can set a scene, imagine this rolling around in my little head as that candle shone its light out into the dark night. 

Fleming Rutledge in her book, Advent, says that Advent begins the dark. In the “now but not yet” of Jesus having come as a baby and introducing his Kingdom, and in us waiting for him to come a second time to set all things right. We look back in the Advent season before Christmas to Jesus’s first coming and we look forward to his return. Yet, we wait in the dark. Empty rooms with the lights off and small plug in candle sets shining out into the dark, cold December night perhaps tell a story about small lights in our lives that shine far beyond their actual reach. That sense of another world breaking in, of hope, of light shining in the darkness and the darkness not overcoming it (John 1:5).

I’m so glad my mother put that little plug in candle set into that spare bedroom. That one little decoration in a room dedicated for other things, out of the way and unvisited unless guests arrived. The extra room that didn’t see a lot of traffic, that didn’t have the big tree and presents or other decorations contained a little candle set shining its small light into the darkness on cold December nights. But, in that small scene as a child, my mind was in Bethlehem, in the stable and the manger, attended to by shepherds, the star shining bright. Something was being birthed in my heart as I sat drawing pictures on the foggy windows. I remember thinking that this was Christmas too — or the lead up to it. And, it was important to wait and long for what was to come. I was waiting for Christmas with the joy and presents and excitement, but I didn’t realize then that in the waiting, my heart was being slowly trained to wait for Jesus. 

Jesus is “true light, which gives light to everyone,” and he has come into the world (John 1:9). I pray that as you go through this Advent and Christmas Season, as you celebrate and worship with our church, and as you gather with friends and family, that you will look for the Light. Look for where the Light breaks through into the darkness and meet Jesus there. And, most of all, I pray that His Light shines in your own heart out into a dark world waiting for the King to come. 

Finally, I'll leave you with this: If we go back to A Charlie Brown Christmas, we see that Linus got it right when he tells Charlie Brown what Christmas is really all about ... and, notice that he even drops his blanket when he recites the angel's admonition to "fear not." Light shining in the darkness, indeed.

A New Place to Write, the Call of St. Francis to Simplicity, and Abounding in Thanksgiving

(Image: Photo I took of a statue of St. Francis from St. Francis Winery in Sonoma County, California)

I've been writing in one form or another for almost two decades. From early blogs (Downshoredrift) to a couple of books to articles for publications and book chapters and Tweets and Facebook posts and weekly sermons, I've likely written millions of words by this point in my life. Some preserved, many lost. They're out there in different forms in print and on the web, but lately, I've been wanting to strip things down and just have a place to simply reflect on what I see God doing, on Scripture, on how spiritual growth happens and what it looks like, and perhaps how grief and setbacks and trials are also part of the journey. So, I thought I'd go back to my roots and the very first way I began to write years ago - with a simple Blogger account. No frills. Nothing impressive. Just thoughts and words and a desire to see where this takes me as I drill down back to the beginning when my words were read by just a handful of people. I have no particular audience in mind, but I want to get better at writing, and that happens by reading and writing more and doing so freely, so this seems like a good way to start ... again. 

I'm calling this writing venture "Telling a Better Story" because that's what I hope to do, its something I've worked at for years to keep myself positive in the midst of a seeming constant bombardment of bad news, and adventure of how we tell a better story about the better way of Jesus and his work in the world keeps me getting up each day to engage this one life we are given.

Controversy, criticism, and complaint drive traffic and get readers to engage. Its easy to do and any writer knows how to push those buttons to get a reaction. But, I haven't found any of that to be very life giving. Not saying I won't ever wade into any kind of critique here on occasion (sometimes a prophetic word is needed), but that won't be my focus. At all. 

Where is life found? Where is God working? What is good, true, and beautiful? That's where I'll be looking. And, if obstacles to the view have to be removed, that's fine. But, the point isn't the obstacle, but the vista I want to see.

I'll interact with books and music and food and nature and the Missio Dei and the Scriptures and reflect, take notes, put together some thoughts, and use this as an online journal. No comments. No arguing. Just words and thoughts, music and art, beauty and probably a bit of despair. But, light breaking through the cracks, I hope. I'm also starting a doctoral program at Fuller Seminary next Spring in Missiology called the Doctor of Global Leadership. I imagine that this will be a good place to share some thoughts about what I'm learning along the way as well as things I'm teaching in the church I pastor in Sonoma County, California. 

I added the pic of a statue of St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) I took back in the spring up top because his life story helps point the way of simplicity of devotion to Jesus, finding God at work in all the world around us, and in seeing beauty and hope even in the midst of poverty and lack. I hope my writing here looks a bit like his call to simple and clear devotion to Jesus and his better way of living in this world with an eye on the world to come. 

Here is a hymn written by St. Francis performed by All Sons and Daughters called "All Creatures of Our God and King." They performed in in Assisi in Italy, where St. Francis lived. Hallelujah indeed. 

 

All of this finally gets me to what set me out to write today, which is a personal call to engage this Thanksgiving Week of 2021 with a renewed a desire to "abound in thanksgiving." Colossians 2:6-7 says, 

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

There is so much in these two verses. "As you received Christ Jesus as Lord" - by faith and grace, with nothing in my hands to offer, nothing to merit the merit of Christ. Just my sin to be forgiven and weakness and ... faith which is sparked by the work of God in my life as the gospel came to me and continues to call me to the goodness and mercy of God. I'm to walk in Christ the same way I came to him, depending on Jesus to be my Savior, recognizing I can't save myself. Rooted deep and built up strong in Jesus. Established in faith in Jesus. Remembering what I've been taught about Jesus. And, abounding in thanksgiving. 

That word "abounding" means an overflowing abundance that goes beyond what is expected. A surplus. More thanksgiving than one would think is needed. Its one thing to say "thank you" and to even feel some gratitude for good things. But, through Jesus, we are called to abounding, overflowing, more than seems to be expected thanksgiving. This isn't natural. 

We can so easily be captured by what is wrong, by what we don't have, how we've been wounded and disappointed. Our whole view of life can drain into an abyss of what has gone wrong and isn't what its supposed to be. And, we might very well have a point. But, Jesus - by his grace and by faith - calls us to "abounding in thanksgiving." Above and beyond. That isn't my natural bent. It requires a supernatural infusion of the grace of God and the presence of Jesus. Fortunately, that seems to be what God has in mind. Rooted and built up in Jesus. Established in faith in Jesus. Abounding in thanksgiving. 

So, that's it. A new/old place to write and sketch out my thoughts and reflect. A call to simplicity in devotion to Jesus and the beauty he gives in this world God created. And, an invitation to abound in Thanksgiving - above and beyond with plenty to spare and share. That seems like a good way to Tell A Better Story.