Pastor Larson’s Corner: Reflecting Christ’s light
When I hung Christmas lights on the railing around my outdoor deck this year, they looked pretty good but it seemed like something was missing. Then a few days later we received a few inches of new snow that covered the lights. I realized immediately how much the lights needed the snow to really look great. The snowflakes served as tiny reflectors of the light. By reflecting the light the snow made the lights bright and beautiful.
At the beginning of the Christmas story in John’s Gospel we read these words concerning John the Baptist. “He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.” Like John the Baptist we are called to testify to the light of Christ and when we do we become reflectors of that light. Like the thousands of snowflakes on my deck, we reflect the light of Christ in the world and make it truly bright and beautiful. This is the way God has chosen for the light of Christ to shine in the world. God has chosen to let it shine through us.
In and of itself the light of Christ is bright and beautiful. God did not need us to work the miracle of Christmas. We are not a replacement for the light of Christ in the world. Rather, we reflect the light of Christ’s love in the world. As we make the light of Christ’s love known in the world, we make His light shine brighter and ever more beautifully.
During the Christmas season we have many wonderful opportunities to reflect the light of Christ in the world. We do so when we open our hearts to the needs of those around us and generously give to help others have a good Christmas. We also reflect the light of Christ in our homes and families as we share the wonderful good news of Jesus’s birth. The light of the world, Jesus Christ our Lord, has come. When we reflect that light in our lives, we make it brighter and ever more beautiful.
Pastor Larson’s Corner is written by Jerry Larson and appears weekly in the Norwegian American Weekly.
Pastor Jerry Larson retired to his cabin in Zimmerman, Minn., after 39 years in parish ministry for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In 2011 he published a book entitled “Speaking the Word Freely: Writing with purpose, preaching with power.” Contact him at jerlarson@visi.com
This article originally appeared in the Dec. 19, 2014, issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (800) 305-0271.
