Read Romans 13:11-14
There used to be a time when the only light available at
night came from candles or oil lamps. Night-time then was full of mysterious,
threatening airs. When I was a member of the Scouts, I used to go camping in
the forest. Gathered around the campfire, we felt fine. But as soon as we moved
away, the gathering darkness scared us. We were happy to have companions under
the tent. Once, I had to sleep all alone and it sure took me a while to fall
asleep.
Such night-time is a time of terrible loneliness. Unable to
see beyond the radius of the light from the candle, I feel the world closing in
on itself, reducing itself to the limit of my eyesight. I feel isolated, alone,
cut off from everyone. The world consists only of my thoughts, my feelings, my
fantasies, my passions… I become the centre of my world.
Such night-time is a time of criminal activity. Darkness
hides all kinds of vices and violence. Since none can see what others are
doing, all feel free to do things they would never do in the light of the day.
Nothing, no one is there to put a limit on my passions. It’s the time for armed
robbery, for arson, for murder. Once the sun has gone down, no one goes out
alone.
Such-night time is full of lies. Pleasure is promised, yet
joy is slain. Power is promised, but vitality is sapped. The world is promised,
but all is lost. We wake up sad, tired and alone.
Such night-time is symbolic of a way of being which, in
fact, impedes us from truly being. Saint Paul tells us that Christ came to take
us out of this night of strange and frightening dreams. Christ is the light
that shines in the depth of night, the One who carries light to the heart of
darkness, so that our eyes might be open to reality and help us see, right next
to us, those brothers and sisters who stand with open arms.
Such night-time must be left behind. We are called to
believe in the dawn, to walk towards the day, to live under the sun. During
these first weeks of Advent, let us contemplate each little coloured light that
shines in our trees and around our houses. Let us see in them a reminder, a
sign of this great truth: Christ came to free us from darkness and make us live
in the light. Let us journey towards Christmas as we walk into the light of
day.
