Following the Star 
Pause
The Song of Simeon (Luke 2:29-32, from the Book of Common Prayer):
“Lord, you now have set your servant free
to go in peace as you have promised;
For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior,
whom you have prepared for all the world to see:
A Light to enlighten the nations,
and the glory of your people Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.”
Listen
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in a pitch-dark land, light has dawned. You have made the nation great; you have increased its joy. They rejoiced before you as with joy at the harvest, as those who divide plunder rejoice. As on the day of Midian, you’ve shattered the yoke that burdened them, the staff on their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
Isaiah 9:2-4
Think
What a wonderful reading! Light and darkness. Two words that are opposites. It makes me think about how I like one more than the other, but they also cause me to reflect on how you need one to notice the other or to make the other greater.
If you lived in darkness all the time, and a light goes on, you would think it is something very good. But if you lived in the light all the time, and then found yourself in darkness, you would feel something is wrong. We might not like being in the dark, but it is necessary to know the darkness to realize and appreciate when the light comes into our life. In the dark you cannot see everything, but when a light goes on, everything looks different.
When Jesus came to this world, he brought joy, happiness, and hope to many people that didn’t have anything to live for. Let us see that light in our lives too! Let us share that light with our world!
Ivette Linares-Rivera
Pray
Thank you, Jesus, for bringing your light to my life.
Let me appreciate and feel your light so I can be the light that others need right now.
I want to trust that when the darkness comes, you will always be my light.
In your name I pray, amen.
Go
Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad!
Philippians 4:4
