Longing for Light

Sitting on the edge of a new year is often a prompt for reflection. I think about this past year that we’ve had and about how our collective experience has been pretty heavy. On top of everything else, I know for some of you there have been cancer diagnoses, some of you have lost family members. Some of you are worried about loved ones and jobs…and marriages… I’m sure there have been moments when many have asked… Is there any light in this? Is there hope…

And so we come into this new year longing for a better world, longing for healing, for a vaccine, for a hug from a grandchild we’ve not seen, for the mending of a nation, for reconciliation, for the bending hearts and minds towards love, for peace…

And so I pray with you that God’s Spirit would sweep across the face of our nation and the face of the world. And I pray that God’s Spirit would enter anew into your life and mine.

On this day of Epiphany, we remember that the light, that is Christ, “… shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

Finally, I pray that you and I would get glimpses of that light breaking through the darkness. And may we be bearers of that light.

Let us pray:  Almighty and all-loving God, I pray especially today for those who need you near. Rest your Spirit on them. Fill them again and again with your grace. Give us eyes to see your hand at work in the world around us. Grant us hope for the new year. In Christ’s name. Amen.