Walk in His Light

December 29 2008

The Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas

By Beth DeCristofaro

…the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness. (1 John 2:8-9)

Sing to the LORD a new song…Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice. (Psalm 96: 1, 11)

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses,
the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord … (and Simeon said) “Lord, now let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:22, 29-32)

Piety

Lord, let your servant go in peace today. Your word has been fulfilled. Let my own eyes see the salvation which you prepared. Make of me a light to reveal you to all. Make me love not hate. Allow me to walk in your light and give up darkness all the days of my life. (Based upon Simeon’s Prayer.)

Study

“He is the apple of his father’s eye” people will say about a new baby. Or “She is the light of our lives.” There is something about a baby which brings about warm feelings, caring and an almost uncontrollable urge to babble. A baby brings up our own hopes and dreams as well as the potential we envision in her burbling and his wiggling. Babies, for the most part, make us feel good although the responsibility which goes along with one can be overwhelming. Jesus’ parents went to the temple to fulfill their part of the Law of Moses. He comes directly from the ancient heritage but as Simeon sings, he is a new light not an old one.

Jesus’ father puts it another way: "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased." (Luke 3:22). Jesus, through the “yes” of his mother and stepfather, fulfills the old and is the beacon for the new potentiality of humankind. Simeon hoped, waited and was complete. In our study, piety and action, we too open ourselves to Jesus’ presence of light. We can hope in God’s promise fulfilled and act in certainty that Jesus’ presence today means we must choose His way not our own, or the way of nations, or the way of an incomplete and fractured world.

Action

Continue with the celebration of Christmas! On this “Fourth Day” of Christmas, what can we give or do for someone to show our true love, based in the light of Jesus?