Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you... and... his glory will be seen upon you... ~ Isaiah 60: 1-2 (First reading for the Epiphany)
The abundant Christmas lights and cribs at my parish are an annual labour of love by the parish priest and a small, dedicated group, who, over several days, ensure every wall, railing and tree is liberally, brightly festooned with fairy lights, and decorated with angels, stars, magi and more. This year, the brightness extended well past the church and presbytery, to the end of the parish centre. Arriving for Mass on Christmas Eve night, I felt I was being invited to, quite literally, follow the lights to their end... or rather, to their source and beginning.
On an impulse, I whipped out my phone and started to film the single strand along the parish centre... and then the light growing, with the first burst of Merry Christmas on the church wall... ahead, the light still growing, garlanding a tree or three or four, then round the corner, and so to the sparkling, brilliant, illuminated façade and front garden... The twinkling smaller crib, beneath the cross, no longer starkly bare... To the left, dozens of softly glowing lights, and... Oh wow!... The blaze of radiance in and around the main crib, as you turn that corner...
I hope this little video can convey something of the magic and the exuberance of this display...
I had headed to the main crib keen to see if the parish's lopsided and cracked animals were there again. They are - and with two new companions: two jaunty, festive-looking, illuminated Shaun the sheep, standing proudly (and very brightly!) on either side of the Infant who is the source of all the light. Later on, I showed a photo of the crib to a friend who commented - Ahhh, two black sheep! Well... sort of... But I liked the observation. The black sheep of any family is their misfit: the one who is different, in a negative way, or has gone astray; the one who has brought shame or disappointment, and is often isolated, judged or criticised by everyone else.
And yes! Last year, when I wrote about the chipped and wonky-horned figures, I said: Didn't Jesus come for the wounded and broken? Wasn't Love's preference not for the perfect and the pristine, but for the wonky and lopsided, the fragile, bruised and scarred? Weren't they the ones he especially reached out to, and invited to himself? And surely, surely, Love's preference was also for the misfits and the isolated; the scapegoats, the harshly judged, and, especially, the ones who had gone astray... And here they are, not only joyously at the heart of this crib, but filled with and radiating the light and the glory which has come to them - come to us - and risen upon us all.
Twelve days ago we celebrated the birth of the Light of the World - the One for whom all these lights shine. Now, we celebrate the arrival of the wise men, who, journeying in hope and trust, followed the light to find the true light that enlightens everyone... (John 1:9); the light we are all called to manifest, especially in these dark and difficult times.
As we celebrate Epiphany, how is God calling each one of us to follow, and be filled with, and radiate the light and the glory of the God who continues to dwell among us, as unconditional, all-embracing, all-renewing Love at the heart of our blessed and broken world...?
Comments
Post a Comment