BY MICHAEL NEU
St. John’s Lutheran Church
Once again, Advent is upon us, the season of anticipation.
For most, it is a season of anticipation of spending money we may not have, of entertaining family and associates we may not enjoy spending more hours with than we possibly have to, and of dressing up in our finest for a function we would rather not attend.
Advent is not supposed to be any of this. It is supposed to be a season of anticipation of the Christ child to be born. He will be Emmanuel, God among us.
Our physical days grow shortest and nights longest as Advent comes. We plunge increasingly into darkness.
Spiritually, we often find ourselves also plunging into darkness. We grow further from God. Our cares are centered more on those of wealth and status, yet these things do not bring joy, because we must continually chase them to derive that minute of pleasure from them. The darkness grows around us.
With Advent, we can anticipate Jesus coming to be the Light that guides us, leading us to God.
Paul told the Romans in his letter to them, “Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So let us throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light,” Romans 13:11-12.
We crave light in our lives. We need to see our way in life, around the obstacles, away from the trials and tribulations that we will inevitably encounter. The coming Christ is that light, but we have to accept He is that and follow that light.
We can’t get caught up following those who claim to be the answer, then lead us further from God. There is only one true light, and it is He whose birth we anticipate this Advent season.
The one true light is Jesus Christ, who will be born to a humble family, in a meager setting, among the livestock and laid in a bed of animal feed, wrapped in swaddling cloth.
This Advent, when everything seems to overwhelm you, stop and take time to ponder, as Mary would, the wonder of this miracle that Emmanuel, God among us, comes to be the light for our path from God to our hearts that God may aid in us and we in Him.
As Isaiah says, “Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord,” Isaiah 2:5.
St. John’s Lutheran Church hosts a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 5 p.m. on Dec. 24. All are invited to attend at 250 W. Adams Ave. in Los Banos.
