As we set up our crèches, we not only reassure ourselves that God is coming into the world and that God is with us, but we also recognize that there is something about the world as it is that is less than the world as it should be.
Our deep longing for light in a season when night falls early and dawn comes late reminds us that the world is suffering—that we are all looking for a little light, a little hope.
Maybe this year the light our world needs is being born in you. Maybe the fire that burns in your belly as you see homeless people bundled up under the freeway or hungry people lining up for the food pantry, is just the kindling of a blaze that will be fed by the spirit of courage to do something about it. Maybe it will be your anger and your courage that birth hope into the world in the coming year.
This message is adapted from “Faith reflections: Hope’s daughters” written by Erik Christensen that first appeared in the December 2009 issue of Café magazine.