Light of the World!
Table Talk
Setting the Table
Light a candle if you wish, and take a moment to center down where you are for a time of reflection and prayer. Take a deep breath. Check-in with yourself, with your breathing, and your body. Where do you sense tension or pain? Where do you feel relaxed and at ease? Rest your gaze gently or close your eyes and take one more deep breath.
Notice the brightness of your Advent wreath on this day if you have one - how much brighter and expansive is the light with all of the candles shining together! There are plenty of forces that want to pit us against each other in this world, but how will our Christ light shine brightly if we allow them to divide and diminish us?
Matthew 2:9-12
When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Isaiah 9:2,6
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
on them light has shined.
For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Food for Thought
Stars serve as indicators of time, place, space, and orientation.
Ancient farmers who lived in temperate climates, where seasons aren’t as easy to predict based on feet of snow or blazing summers, would reference the stars to indicate the best time to plant and reap a harvest. Sailors, when looking to orient themselves on the oceans, would follow stars and align their travels by the patterns they recognized in the heavens, allowing them to safely navigate from one coordinate to another, finding a welcoming harbor at journey’s end.
Stars help us find our way. Before GPS, Waze, and GoogleMaps, we had stars to lead and guide us.
In a 2015 interview with CBS correspondent Charlie Rose, astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson spoke to this truth: “The atoms of our bodies are traceable to stars...We are not figuratively, but literally, stardust.” We were created and empowered to be points of light - little stars - in our universe. How beautiful is that? And in my experience, the brightness of our light is commensurate to how brightly we radiate God’s love.
As we light the Christ candle of our Advent wreaths, we celebrate Jesus - our bright and morning star, our orientation, our guide! We celebrate the fullness of Christ’s light in the world - the hope, the peace, the joy, and the love born in and through it. A light has shone in our world that can overcome the deepest of shadows. Christ is Born! Hallelujah!
On this Christmas morning, we celebrate the light of the precious babe born in Bethlehem so many years ago, and we also celebrate the light of Jesus re-kindled in our own hearts today.
Jesus said, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5.14-16). Inasmuch as Christ is our light, we are to radiate that light - that hope, that peace, that joy, that love - for all to see.
One of the brightest lights I have ever known - a star of my life and one who radiated Christ’s love to me - was my Grandma Jung. Some of the last words I heard her speak were these: “It is so important to take every opportunity to be together. We need each other.”
If we are all points of light, the closer we are to one another - the more connected we are to one another - the brighter we’ll shine. Conversely, that which separates us from one another diminishes us.
We do indeed need each other. We cannot embody and embrace the fullness of Christ’s light for our world on our own. We shine brighter when we strive to reflect the light of Christ’s love, embody Christ’s eclectic communal family, and extend Christ’s radical welcome together.
Our journey of encounter with Christ does not end at the manger - that is only the beginning. We must go on shining from there - having known Christ, having seen Christ, having experienced the light of God in Christ, and having welcomed Christ’s light into our hearts. We carry that light into the world as we continue in its sharing with one another.
At some point tonight, go out and look at the stars. Think of the star that guided the wise ones to Jesus, think of the stars of the sky, and consider the stars of our lives that continue to offer their light to us whether we can see it or not. Offer thanks for that light. Then, know that you are a part of that light. The light of Christ shines in you - a gift to the world and to all who seek guidance - this day and every day.
Offer thanks for the light of this Christmas, of Christmases past, and all Christmases yet to be.
If you would like a source of daily reflections for future Advent seasons, consider purchasing the book, Advent at The Welcome Table.
Blessing
May we accompany one another, constellations of companionship, on this journey of light.
A LITTLE TABLE TALK FOR YOUR TABLE...
In what ways have you experienced the fullness of Christ’s light, and how were you changed?
Discuss together how we can extend Christ’s radical welcome in the world.
Create a list of ideas for how you can be welcoming light in your community and share that list with your group.
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Ask your kiddos to share what the light of Christ means to them (and explain how it is tied to the way we love others).
Prompt your child to share creative ways they can extend welcome and show love to others.
Have your kiddo take two flashlights and place them apart, then have them sit the lights together. Discuss how much brighter the lights become when they are shining together.
Meet our Welcoming Voice!
Rev. Daryn Stylianopoulos is originally from North Carolina, but has called Boston, MA home for the past eighteen years. She is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Boston University School of Theology and serves as a Baptist pastor in the Boston area. Daryn is an advocate for the marginalized and works against injustices in her community. She believes in creatively cultivating a spirit of cohesion, welcome, and healing in the world. A lover of art, music, gardening, and, most of all, family, she often looks to these for inspiration in her work and ministry.
To hear more from Daryn throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
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