11-30-19

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS

November 30, 2019

(Saturdays during Advent will have a guest writer from the congregation)

Guest Writer: Rev. Katelin Jordan

Scripture: Isaiah 2:5  

Come, house of Jacob, let us walk by the light of the Lord.

 

The season of Advent is an opportunity and challenge to live in darkness, waiting for the light that will come. We are waiting, always waiting, knowing that the light of Christ will come, but that it isn’t quite here yet. So often, we want to rush right into the light. We focus on the light of Christmas morning, forgetting that we must embrace the darkness of where we are now, to learn how to live in the waiting, and to find our light.

 

I have struggled with my health the past year. I have gone through countless procedures, tests, appointments, surgeries, recoveries, and therapies. But going through all of this has taught me how to find light in this darkness. I have learned how to laugh and embrace joy amidst terrible pain and uncertainty. I have learned how to give myself grace and forgiveness when I must cancel plans and say no to something that is being asked of me. I have learned how to ask for and accept help. I have learned how to embrace the darkness that is pain and, in doing so, have found the most beautiful light and love in the people around me who continue to walk this path with me, my family, my friends, and my church.

 

My faith in a God who loves me when I want to give up and who shares in my joy when I pick myself back up again is my light. Learning to accept that, while I may be in a time of darkness, there is light all around me on this journey is how I get up every morning and find the goodness and love in every day. And the love that I have been given by others is a constant reminder to me that I am also called to Live the Love First Life and all that entails as well.

 

This journey is hard. A time of Advent darkness always is. But in learning how to pause, and live in that dark journey, we are given the chance to see the light all around us! I like to think that, in all of the fear, pain, and uncertainty that Mary and Joseph must have felt on their journey to Bethlehem, there must have been light there too, even if just in the movement of the babe in Mary’s womb.

 

It is my prayer for all of us that we learn to live in our dark times, knowing that it is in those times that the light shines brightest of all.

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