Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes.
While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from them. ( John 12:35-36 )
This is such an interesting passage. As we mentioned yesterday, Advent is nearly a celebration of Light … THE LIGHT that was coming into the world. He came! He came and He said to His disciples, “Believe in the light while you have the light, that you may become sons of light.”
We know that He also said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
“I am going away,” He said, “but I will come and make my abode with you.” Our Light departed, but just as He said, He came again in manner that we could dwell with Him forever, that not our minds or senses alone might realize Him, but that our very souls might be “filled and flooded with light” (Ephesians 1:18-23)
Oh, no wonder this season warms us and rejoices our hearts!
We remember that Jesus said, as in verse 5 above, that we would receive power to become the sons of light, all of us who receive Him, who believe on His Name.
Jesus also warned us that the darkness encroaches when light goes out. We remember those virgins, waiting for the Bridegroom but with lamps grown dim and then cold as those maidens slept.
Oh Lord God, grant that this Advent season will be for us a filling of our lamps and a trimming of the wicks. We are to be those filled with the Spirit, yet we know that we can hardly explain that concept.
How can we be what we can’t even define?
First, we will use an Advent scripture … Nothing is impossible with God! (Luke 1:37) … and then we will use another …
“Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.”
What was it about Mary that she was predisposed to obey the Lord, even when the message was that she would be impregnated by the Power of the Most High.?
Here is light for today’s path, a great reality to celebrate as we light our Advent candle …
There is no greater brightness than to answer “Yes, Lord” when He speaks or sends His Word. The oil that saturates the wick of our brightness is the glory of a “willing heart to sustain us” (Psalm 51:12) Let’s see how often today we can answer the promptings of God, with joy (“My spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”) with those words, “Yes, Lord.”
We can begin by saying, “Yes, Lord, we will answer Yes!” and oh, that will result in a merry … Mary … spirit this Advent tide and beyond.
detail of the Anunciation
Andres del Sarto, 1528
public domain, Wikipedia
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