Living Compass is currently hosting an Advent group on Facebook. It is based on our booklet of daily readings for the season of Advent, and its theme is Practicing Hope with All Your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind. In case the idea of Advent is new for you, please know that it is a four-week season that many Christians observe to prepare for the celebration of Christmas. It is similar to the season of Lent, which is a time to prepare for Easter.
What follows is a reflection I wrote for our Advent booklet. It speaks of the power of love and hope.
Have you ever found yourself, perhaps when the power has gone out at night, in a completely dark room where you can hardly see at all? Now imagine yourself in that same situation but with a single candle and some matches. You light the candle and then, what happens? You likely are amazed at the power that one single candle has to dispel the darkness.
Candles are an essential part of our celebration of Advent (just as they are for Hanukkah, which our Jewish sisters and brothers will celebrate starting next Thursday). Churches, and many homes, have Advent wreaths with candles to mark the four weeks of Advent and then Christmas. These candles are signs of hope, signs of the light of Christ coming into the darkness of the world. They also remind us that the darkness cannot overcome the light.
It has been said that “it is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” I know that ultimately to be true, but I have to admit that in the darkness that is all too real in our world, I often struggle not to get stuck wringing my hands and cursing the darkness. This is another one of those times when hope can be a decision, an act of the will, an intentional choice to find a way to light one candle rather than to curse and complain about the darkness.
Despair is real. It is powerful. However, the power of love and hope are even greater.
If or when you find yourself cursing or complaining about all that is wrong in the world, you might instead choose to light a candle in the darkness and then take a few minutes to reflect on one thing you can do to be a light of love and hope for others in your corner of the world.
Article by The Rev. Dr. D. Scott Stoner, Living Compass
