The Gospel of John is not one of our favorite books during this holy time of year.  In this particular book there are no shepherds, angels, or magi.   All we are told about the miraculous birth of our Savior is:  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.  What has come into being 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 1:1-5 NRSV)

Light – it is the most stable reality in our universe.  It is the way we measure speed and the passing of time.  Without light there could be no life on earth.  So, when John uses the image of light as a metaphor for Christ what he is actually wanting us to do is think about the incredible love God has for this dark, broken and sin-filled world.

The people of John’s time understood a great deal about gods.  After all every nation and faith had an entire host of deities to which they prayed and paid homage to in the hope of receiving preferential treatment over others.  But out of all these gods, the only one whose love did not depend upon the people performing acts that made them pleasing to their personal deity was the God that became known through the Babe of Bethlehem. 

Here is a God whose love reaches out to us even when we are unlovable, a God who continues to reach out to us even when we refuse to reach back.  Regardless of where we try to hide, what we try to do, or who we try to become God will continue to search for us, forgive us, and believe in us.

But the Good News does not stop there.  According to John, the light of God – the love that is ours through the gift of Christ – is so powerful it can transform our lives and the darkness of sin that surrounds us.

While we may never hear an angel sing or see the gifts of a king, our lives can still be touched and our world transformed because the light shines in the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it.

May the Light of Christ illumine your life this Christmas and forever.