In him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. – John 1:4-5
2020 was a challenging year for so many reasons. Covid closed schools, businesses, and churches. Around the world, people isolated themselves. We began to work from home. We taught our children at home. We worshiped at home. As the Advent season approached, we knew we needed to prepare for our family of faith to be at home and not in person for worship. We wanted to have something special for this occasion, something that would help unite us and keep the hope of Christ alive in our homes. We created an Advent Wreath to distribute to our family of faith that year. It would be the light of these candles that would represent what connected us, while we were still isolated at home.
The Advent wreath is an ancient practice of the church. Advent is the four weeks leading to the great celebration of Christmas. Each week we light one of the five candles on the wreath to remind us that, even in the cold darkness of winter, hope continues to grow in our world. Our hope is found in the arrival of the light of Christ. On that dark and lonely night in Bethlehem, the hope of the world was born. At the end of Advent, the family of faith gathers to light candles on Christmas Eve.
It is the church’s way to remember that one single light has now come to bring hope and light to all.
The light of the candle is one of the great symbols of hope. This is why my family decided to put our wreath in the middle of our dining room table. Our table is the center of all activity in our home. We needed, and still need the constant reminder that all the troubles in our world are not enough to overcome the power of the light of hope that entered our world in that manger in Bethlehem.
St. Francis of Assisi once said, “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of one single candle.” Covid did not bring complete darkness. All the terrible events of history have not extinguished the light of Christ in our world. This is the great gift of Christmas. We are not alone. God is with us. This light of hope shines in the darkness and illuminates our path forward. Today, I am thankful that nothing on earth or in all creation can extinguish the hope we have in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
