Heather Gracey volunteers with Habitat Ireland to facilitate the Schools Programme, following her involvement in Change Makers with Wallace High School. She also helps regularly at events to help promote Habitat’s mission. Read her Advent reflection below.
Do you play spot the tree? Prior to my retirement those of us in the staffroom with lengthy commutes enjoyed this annual game of who could report the sight of a decorated Christmas tree, or a house festooned in seasonal splendour. You won’t be surprised that the date grew earlier and earlier each year! The switching on of Christmas lights in our towns and villages draw significant crowds and in recent years it has become increasingly common for local councils to stage light festivals in gardens. Choosing lights for a Christmas tree is now almost as baffling as choosing a pair of jeans in M & S as the options are so numerous and precise. Warm white or cool white? Coloured? Blue? (No to blue in my opinion!)
Light is central to the season of Advent and to the entire story of the Bible. The prophet Isaiah was writing about seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus but the people he wrote to were like us. They were people in the darkness of sin, in a world often characterised by cruelty, depravity and evil. To them Isaiah promised:
“The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” (Isaiah 9.2)
At Christ’s birth the shepherds saw the “glory of the Lord” (Luke 2.9) whilst the wise men reported “we observed his star at its rising” (Matthew 2.2) and Jesus described himself by saying “ I am the light of the world.” Light illuminates. It dispels darkness. It reveals. It is a symbol of hope because darkness cannot overcome it. The work of Habitat for Humanity, both at home and overseas, brings light and hope to those caught in the darkness of inequality, injustice and poverty.
Christmas lights outshine the darkness of the season. As Christmas draws closer may we remember that Christ is the light.
Father God, we thank you that you are the true light of the world. In this season and always, may those who trust in you let their light shine. Amen.
