Following the Star 
Pause
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned.
A child is born to us, a son is given to us, and authority will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:2, 6
However your day has begun,
enter into these moments
seeking the hope and promise
of the light of God’s love.
Listen
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
The Word was with God in the beginning.
Everything came into being through the Word, and without the Word nothing came into being.
What came into being through the Word was life, and the life was the light for all people.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.
John 1:1-5
Think
When I was little, my sister and I would sometimes decorate a cake on Christmas Eve for Jesus’s birthday – extra sprinkles with thick layers of frosting! After church we’d blow out the candles. On our birthday cakes growing up, my parents would sneak in these trick candles that mysteriously wouldn’t blow out. Despite our best efforts, they’d always reignite. In truth, it always surprised me!
In this opening of the Gospel of John, we’re met with the beautiful and yet mysteriously complex narrative of the Word in the world, who God was, is, and will be.
But we’re also met with a surprisingly clear truth. The Gospel author understands that there is darkness in our lives and our world—be it loss, violence, injustice, worry. Even our Christmas season is not all childlike sprinkles and frosting.
Yet amidst the complexity of our lives, there is Light too.
The Word was life.
Christ the Light of the World has come.
And the life was the light for all people.
Inextinguishable hope.
Molly Logan
Pray
Gracious and loving God, you know the reality of my everyday. Thank you for being both mysteriously wondrous and yet so transparent.
Help me to remember today that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot extinguish the light of your love, even when it's tricky to hope in that sometimes.
Amen.
Go
Jesus spoke to the people again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me won’t walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
Christ, the Light of the World, is walking with you,
amidst the darkness and the light
and all the nuances
of your heart and your living today.
