When
Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:11-13
Today’s sermon sparked in me a memory – one I hadn’t thought
about in years. Our annual trek to see
Santa and the department store windows.
I grew up in the day before there were malls. For those that are too young to remember, yes
there actually was a time like that! And
believe it or not, we could still shop and get everything we needed. We just had to walk outside from store to
store to store. I grew up in a small
suburb outside of St. Louis, Missouri which for a major city, is in fact,
a place that offers a "small-town" way of life.
Each year, my family and I had a major pilgrimage to see
Santa at one of the larger department stores in St. Louis. We would pile into the car for a family
dinner in the downtown area, and then walk from store to store to look at the
window displays. When we were finished,
we would go and see Santa at one of the department stores called Famous Barr;
today it is called Macy’s. Bear in mind, it was a good 15 mile or so drive, and
there were no highways at that time.
Each intersection we passed had a light or stop sign. It easily took close to an hour to get
there. Driving across the Mississippi
River signaled we were getting close. We
parked in the parking garage for Famous Barr, which I hated then and still
hate, to this day. I think it has
something to do with my penchant for getting car sick and spinning in a circle
to leave. And that garage, had a tight
loop to exit through!
After we parked, we would walk to our favorite cafeteria;
Miss Hulling’s. Now, Miss Hulling’s was
no ordinary cafeteria. We are not
talking casino fare. No, this was all
homemade, and cooked to perfection. You
were guaranteed a great meal there!
After dinner, we would walk a few blocks to the department stores; a
veritable delight. Every window had
Christmas scenes with moving mannequins of people and Santa Clause. They were not just filled with these lifelike
scenes; there were also trees and lights – LOTS of Christmas lights! After
we went past several storefronts, we would go inside and sit on Santa’s
lap. In those days, Santa actually gave
each child a small present! It was an
incredible experience and a memory I treasure today!!
Fast forward 45 years.
We no longer have stores lining the downtown streets but in malls. There is no light coming from the windows
unless you are talking about the fluorescent lights that line the tiles
overhead. Yes, there are Christmas trees
that go up just after Halloween – sacrilege in my opinion, but apparently, the
retailers don’t see it that way. I just worry that one day, the Christmas
lights will never come down. Or is
that really such a bad thing?
At church, our pastor spoke about the light of Christ;
how God sent His Son to be the Light of the world. Hence the tradition of candles in the
windows at Christmas-time; it signified that one was a Christian if a candle was glowing from
within the home.
Our churches
have a tradition of lights from behind glass windows– but they are stained
glass. You see, back in the olden days,
churches used stained glass windows to light the darkened areas. They also used imagery from the Gospels;
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These
images served to teach as well as provide light in the darkened corners of the
church.
Today, our churches are full of light. Yet, they still carry on the tradition of stained
glass windows. There is none as
beautiful as those. If you drive on the
road where my church sits at night, you can see light streaming through its
stained glass windows. It’s as if the
light is inviting us to come inside; draw near.
I appreciate it all the more, as I used to take classes in stained
glass. It is a tedious process to complete
even the smallest picture in glass. Not
only do your cuts to the glass have to be near perfect but you also have to be
careful as to how you cut the lead or copper to fit. At any time, your piece of work could shatter
in your hands as you tap on the glass to separate the places where it's been scored;
not only is it dangerous but it is very disheartening as well, since many hours
of tedious labor go into making a stained glass picture. The pieces have to fit reasonably close or
you have to start over.
We, in essence, are God’s very own stained glass. There is a real irony here; we are stained much
like the glass– yet, His light shines through us. We too can be broken; yet it doesn’t stop Him
from making a perfect work out of us.
And what about those imperfections in glass? Those little bubbles or cracks that reside
deeply within? We too have many
imperfections. It is through those
cracks and bubbles that light refracts; making an even more brilliant display
of beauty and light. You see, that is
how the light of God shines in us and through us and it is the beauty of our Savior. He can bring light to the darkest, most broken of places and create a masterpiece from the inside out.
As we continue through these last few days of Advent,
let the love of God be apparent in our thoughts, words and deeds. “May these words of my mouth and this
meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14
After all, that’s what the last Advent candle represents;
love. Who is your Love? And where is your Love? In these next few
days, and even beyond, challenge yourself to show the love of Christ to
others. Allow the Light of God to shine
through you to illuminate those dark areas in another’s life. Let God’s light pour through your brokenness
and imperfections, allowing others to see God revealing the love you feel for
Him in your heart. It is what God has called us to be; “The true light that gives light to everyone
was coming into the world.” John 1:9
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