“The True Light
…was coming into the world.
…to all who received him, who believed in his name,
he gave power to become children of God…”(John 1: 9, 12)
We are to burn, to be consumed, as hot wax closest to the candlelight.
For four weeks in Advent we burn down the violet and rose candles. We read the Scriptures beside them. The candles mark time. They illuminate. They burn down.
We observe the wax next to the flame being slowly transformed by the heat and light. It is liquefying. It is giving up its original form, and changed into something new. It is drawn up and consumed when it is one with the light and flame… only then does it become energy and pure light. Only then do we understand the deep cry of the Advent herald, John the Baptist. “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:33).
A more recent messenger described this holy tempering of candles and Christians…
“There is a peaceful, reticent, but constant shining. This is giving light at the cost of one’s own substance, so that one is consumed in the process. Anyone who wants to comprehend Christ’s message of light… must comprehend this one thing: the mission, the duty to shine, to draw others, to seek, to heal, to do good at the cost of one’s own substance…” — Fr. Alfred Delp, SJ.
(This is from Fr. Delp’s sermon from Candlemas, Feb. 2, 1941. He was a Catholic priest and martyr imprisoned and executed by the Nazi regime in 1944.)
Jesus is the light of the world. We are called to imitate him. (See John 8:12, Matthew 5: 14.)
As you enjoy the candlelight around your Christmas table, let its witness call out to you: The True Light beckons! Be drawn to the light and the flame! The time for transformation is while the flame is lit! Don’t be afraid to be aflame for Jesus’ sake – his is the eternal light we seek and desire!
Let us become malleable and molten before the light of Christ!
“… the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.”(Isaiah 60: 19)
Merry Christmas!
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You’ll find this reflection and more, captured in my latest Among Women podcast, Espresso Shot #4.
