Today, I am taking my theme from another neighborhood church Christmas display: Ten magnificent white letters, each about 4 ft. tall, each filled with white tree lights, and set across the hilly lawn, calling passerby's to "BE THE LIGHT". The words echo the spiritual ideal of light that conquers darkness. In Christmas, this ideal is a celebration of Christ's birth, as Jesus himself declared (John 12:8), “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares to the gathering crowd, "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it gives light to all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 14-16)." The charge to "Be the Light", shifts our spiritual focus away from the separation that gives rise to worship and celebration, to Being--to spiritual expression, to Union.
This Sunday is also Larry Morris's birthday, and so it seems fitting to turn to some of his poetic expressions on Light and savor their meaning as a meditation. In his book, Home At Last, Larry writes of a Light Bringer, updating Jesus's metaphor of hiding a candle under a bushel, and offering instead a warning of Christmas commercialism: "Don't hide your light in a shadowy warehouse of desire." In the brief poem Fullness, the world of nature fulfills us: "The ground filled with leaves, my heart fills with gold light." In Poems from the Moon, "Hope for the future does shine bright inside, dissolving the past, erasing the hurts." "Glimpses of Grace", a small book of aphorisms, brings further fuel for contemplation: "How Light uncovers you" as the daily sun dances across the sky, "Smile lights up a face"...while "Seeking Wisdom, Finding Light"...and "When self crumbles, Light appears." With Apples from the Tree, he consoles us: "The cloud if it comes is only another Way of Light, we can't NOT find it"..."Always we come back to acceptance, this life, this life, so gladness of heart underneath all, and always. Sweet, Sweet. Light, Light. Peace, Peace." The Heart of Life remains a "Lantern of love, holding flames close."
Certainly this Christmas 2023, the world--secular and religious--is calling for Light. Even if you crumble, even it clouds darken, even if all you can offer is your smile, look to see the beauty, and discover your acceptance. This week, be the Lantern, be the Light.
For more poetry: https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../StarTeachers/index.html
https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../Youarecloser/index.html