WORD OF THE WEEK
LAST weekend we had to remember to change the clocks. I never remember whether they go forward or back, and my wife has to remind me several times.
The end of summer time is never welcome, because suddenly the days seem shorter – unless we are the kind of people who get up early, either for work or by preference.
Most people prefer the light to the darkness, for all kinds of reasons, and in every sense.
Light and darkness can be a matter of knowledge and understanding – we might say that we ‘are in the dark’ about something.
Light and darkness may refer to good and evil – those who do bad things try to keep them ‘in the dark’.
The events of this year might be described as a time of darkness.
We have been overshadowed by the coronavirus, which has brought fear, uncertainty, all kinds of hardship, and tragedy for many people.
The winter solstice will be on 21st December. This has always been a time of rejoicing, even in the preChristian era.
We welcome it because days are starting to get longer again, and the light is coming. But at present, we
wonder what sort of celebration we shall enjoy this Christmas, and what the world will be like by the time we put the clocks forward again.
The message of Christmas is ‘Immanuel’, which means ‘God is with us’, in the person of Jesus Christ.
He is with us whichever way the clock goes, whether it is light or dark, and whatever problems we are facing. The psalmist wrote: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23)
God is with us, and if we seek him, he will help us to cope with whatever the darkness may bring, until the sun shines on us again.