December 26 Message - Lights in the Darkness
Christmas lights, advent candles, yule logs, candlelight Christmas eve services - light in different forms is traditionally associated with Christmas and for good reason. Light is the symbol of hope, spiritual illumination, warmth, and guidance. Light is the fundamental message of Christmas - light that triumphs over darkness.
Preparing for the Light
The Christmas celebration reminds us that in the coldest, darkest time of the year, God's light still shines. In fact it shines brightest in the darkness.
Before we begin the our Sabbath message, this song will prepare our hearts for the Christmas story of Light
Call to Worship
Opening Prayer
Father and Mother, through out eternity You have been our light
In Your Divine Mercy, You have gifted each of us with a spark of Your light within our spirits
And have given us a Way to nurture the light
So that each of us has the capacity to become a bright torch guiding the Way for others
Holy Spirit Mother,
Rekindle Your light today.
Amen
Scripture Reading
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
6There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
John 1:1-8
2 The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned
Isaiah 9:2
5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another...
1 John 1:5-7
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16
Opening Hymn
Message
Yesterday, the Christian world celebrated Christmas, the birthday of the Christ Child. Interestingly enough, most scholars do not believe that Yeshua Ha'Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah) was born on December 25th. The actual birth date of Yeshua was lost to antiquity. The early followers of the Way did not celebrate Yeshua's birth. Early Christians believed the celebration of anyone's birth was a pagan custom. Since the date of Yeshua's birth was not significant to them, it was forgotten for all time.
The first Christmas celebrations began several centuries after Yeshua's death. Many beleive the December 25th date was chosen as a deliberate substitution for an existing celebration of the birth of the sun god, Saturn. Others believe it was a substitution for pagan winter solstice celebrations. Because of these pagan connotations, the Puritans refused to celebrate Christmas. Many strict fundamentalist Christian groups still refuse to celebrate Christmas. This attitude is unfortunate because it detracts from the greater message.
The dead of winter is an excellent time to celebrate a great Light revitalizing the world. As one reads the scriptures above, one can not help but realize that the message of Yeshua was fundamentally a message of light and hope. If the actual date of his birth is unknown, why not choose the darkest coldest time of the year? Winter is a time that celebrations of light flourish in other cultures why not use it to celebrate the coming of great light for Mankind? Light shines brightest in the darkness.
Man has a primal attraction to light. It is set deeply within our circadian rhythm to awaken with the sun and retreat from the darkness. One of our greatest discoveries was how to make fire. When mankind mastered fire, he had the ability to warm the cold and light the physical darkness of this world. Mankind has also searched for the same type of "fire" in the spiritual plane. Since the beginning of creation and our life on this earth, we have awaited the light of the seasons by searching for the spiritual light. In the dark of winter, we have chosen hope over despair...hope that a better season is coming...through celebrations of light. Throughout history we have celebrated new light in the winter solstice. The many winter festivals of light range from the Druids, to the Roman Saturnalia, to the miracle of light at Hannukah. So why not also celebrate the Holy Child of Light's birth in the midst of winter darkness?
By celebrating Yeshua's birth, we are recognizing that light is more than the Sun. True light cannot be measured in kilowatts and amps. Light is a metaphor and it is a metaphor that our soul truly seeks. Light is knowledge. Light is life. Light is light....light is God within us. Light is the real gift of Christmas. Light is our true identity. That is what Father and Mother God gave mankind with Yeshua's birth. We were given the chance to know our true selves.
A different and illuminating gift for each of us this Christmas would be the ability to understand this true identity...the light of God within. We are spirits encased in physical bodies. As spirits in matter, we were placed in this physical creation to learn and grow. As citizens of creation, we have experienced and uncovered the secrets of form and matter, learning to create at a very fundamental level. Like children in a sandbox who form replicas of castles, we have been learning through the tools our Parents have provided in this playground. But we have been removed for so long from our spiritual origins that many of us have forgotten our true identity. Luckily, our Mother and Father graciously provide us with reminders. These reminders may only be a moment, a teacher, a word, a phrase, a picture or a sudden spiritual insight that allows us a fleeting glimpse into our true identity. In those moments, we remember we have the light within.
Yeshua was sent as the greatest reminder of all. He was the Light from above sent to reveal light is available to each man and woman. He reminded us are made in the image of the Mother and Father. We are light...like the great encompassing Light. Our mission is to be beams of light carrying information into the world, influencing and affecting all that we contact. This year, as Christmas comes and goes again, let us not forget the real message behind all the Christmas lights. Let us think differently. Let us recognize and identify that we are in fact a rainbow of light, and that within our light are specific tasks, purposes, behaviors, abilities and gifts we unconsciously radiate upon each other and all we contact.
During this season of giving let us realize we are the gifts of Holy Light. Let us shine for each other during our temporary lifetime on this earth. Let us understand our light and what our lights radiate that makes us so holy to one another. Let us shine without fear in this world. Yeshua said that we are not to hide our lights. Don't be afraid to shine.
Many say that they are afraid of failure. I think most people are actually afraid of success. Success means you have to continue to shine..that the world will count on you to shine and that requires a lot of work. It is a lot easier just to go on pretending to be meaningless. Here is a quote that I love from Marianne Williamson that says it all..."We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
So go ahead!! Celebrate the real Christmas spirit and SHINE!
Closing Hymn
Final Thoughts
From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Light gives of itself freely, filling all available space. It does not seek anything in return; it asks not whether you are friend or foe. It gives of itself and is not thereby diminished. ~Michael Strassfeld
"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."
-- Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) German theologian, musician, philosopher, and physician
