"Light" | Reflection by Maureen Wagner

Heading to my car for an early-morning appointment, I paused to appreciate the beauty of the sky. Although I was running late, the breathtaking sunrise backed by blue sky and moody clouds begged for my attention.   

Light figures prominently in our lives; we count on it for visibility, for safety, and for healthy gardens. In our daily lives, though, do we appreciate the light that is available to us with a flick of a switch? We’re quick to grumble when we lose power and can’t read, watch TV or listen to the news. More importantly, do we value the light of Jesus in our lives? In John 8:12, He told the crowd: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  How emboldened we are to hear these words.

The forty days of Lent are a pilgrimage to Easter. From the darkness of winter at its start to the light filled spring, it is the promise of the light that sustains us. The first service of Easter Day - the celebration of the Great Vigil of Easter - is filled with symbolism of the light. As the service directs, a fire is kindled in the darkness, the Paschal Candle is lit from the newly kindled fire, and the following prayer is read: “O God, through your Son you have bestowed upon your people the brightness of your light; Sanctify this new fire, and grant that in this Paschal feast we may so burn with heavenly desires, that with pure minds we may attain to the festival of everlasting light (BCP p. 285).”