Thoughts for the Day

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war rise up against me,
yet I will be confident.....

I believe that I shall see the
goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!

(Church in Wales Lectionary, from New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Do you like the dark, or does it make you nervous? Many people don't like walking in the dark or opening or locking up buildings like churches in the dark. But light and dark symbols appear a lot in our worship. A service held by the ancient church on the three days leading up to Easter was that of Tenebrae. During the service the candles were gradually extinguished, and in the dark an enormous noise was made, symbolising the earthquake that occurred when Jesus died. Then in the early hours of Easter Day the church would be ablaze with the light from candles.

In Advent, services may start in darkness with the light slowly increasing, to symbolise the way that darkness (that is evil), will be overcome by Jesus the Light of the World.

Our reading today from Psalm 27 starts with the words 'The Lord is my light'. It has a personal message that Jesus also came to shine a light on each one of us, to show up our faults, our inconsistencies, and our sin. May He help us re-evaluate our life this Advent.

Friday 4th December, follow up thoughts

Lord Jesus,
Light of the World,
shine Your light on us,
so that the dark places
in our hearts are explored,
and we may make changes
to our lives.
May we then learn to live
in the light of Your glory.
Amen.