“What has come into being in the Word was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness
did not overcome it.”
John 1:3-5
Jesus to us: “You are the light of the world.”
Matthew 5:14
When I was a child, I thought the Candlelight Christmas Eve Service was magical.
I still believe that it is.
There's something deeply evocative about candlelight. No artificially made light can compare to a single flame's illumination. The flickering tongue pierces the darkness and casts long shadows with a breath of heat.
The power of a flame, however, is equaled by its fragility. It doesn't take much for a flame to go out. An opened door, a drafty window, a poorly trimmed wick, and the flame will die.
We are reminded of these realities when the lights are dimmed to match the deepening darkness outside, and we await the light from the Christ Candle on Christmas Eve. Alone, the light we carry is vulnerable to a world that wants to snuff it out. But together, surrounded by family, friends, and church fellowship, there is any number of ways that Christ's guiding and sustaining light can be shared with us anew.
"Here," a friend whispers to us in the sanctuary. "Let me share my flame with you."
Because we choose to share Christ's light with others, our sanctuary glows with a hundred flames dancing in time to the cadence of our singing.
Each year's Candlelight Christmas Eve Service never fails to astound and delight.
Neither does Christ's light and love.