Luke 1:67-79

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:4-5

“Because of the tender mercy of our God,  whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Luke 1:78-79

There is a lot of darkness in this world: war, poverty, disease, family brokenness, and so much more. Darkness touches us all. My young son has recently become afraid of the dark. He needs me to walk into every room with him to turn on the lights. At night he needs a nightlight and a little blue octopus that projects fish onto the ceiling. Even with those lights, he still wants me to sit with him at bedtime. Things don’t feel as dark with mom there.

We all want someone to sit in the dark with us? I’ve had periods in my life of trauma and heavy darkness, sadness, and crushing anxiety. In these moments my prayer is always: “Jesus will you sit with me?” In my day-to-day life my prayers often take the form of a list. But in these dark moments it’s that one simple sentence. I just need Jesus to sit with me.

And sit by us he does. Through a remarkable, unfathomable miracle the God of the universe came as a tiny baby into the grit and grime and darkness of the world. In the Luke verses, Zechariah rejoices that the savior is about to arrive, and he will shine light on those living in darkness and who are in the shadow of death. John tells us that this darkness cannot overcome the light. Whatever we face in this world, when the darkness is closing in, there is a light that cannot be put out. Advent reminds us of this hope. Because of this baby we no longer sit in the dark. Instead, we embrace the light, and wait with hope for more.