Too much light to deny
This is what we proclaim to you: what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked upon and our hands have touched, we speak of the word of life. This life became visible; we have seen and bear witness to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life that was present to the Father and became visible to us. What we have seen and heard we proclaim in turn to you so that you may share life with us. This fellowship of ours is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. Indeed our purpose in writing you this is that our joy may be complete. Here then is the message we have heard from him and announce to you: that God is light; in him there is no darkness. (1 John 1:1-5)
“The world at night, has seen the greatest light. Too much light to deny.”
-The Innocence Mission
As most of our secular world begins to wind down from the celebration of Christmas, we Christians are just getting started. On this third day of Christmas we celebrate the Feast of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist. John is the only apostle to escape martyrdom, but the beloved disciple of Jesus still gave plenty of witness to our Lord. What a gift we have received from the community of Ephesus where he and Christ’s mother Mary lived. There is something very gentle and serene in the words they left behind as a testament to the Incarnation. These are words meant to be pondered deeply so that they take root in our hearts.
The first letter of John begins by sharing that the gift they received was God made flesh, whom they saw, heard and touched. Christ was a gift too big to be kept hidden away for themselves, so they did the only thing possible, which was to share his light with as many people who would listen. Christmas is still a time for giving and receiving gifts. We too, like St. John’s community of early Christians, have been given the gift of the eternal Word of life. May we use that gift to continue scattering the darkness.
Related Posts:
About The Author
Comments