Christ Be Our Light

Advent is upon us, and we have less than one week before Christmas!  While I'm spiritually preparing for Christmas, my social obligations and gifts are a different story.  I don't feel prepared.  I don't have cards written; my decorations are missing - you might wonder why I've embraced the minimalist approach to Christmas decor and not my desk!  On one hand, I'm not interested in skipping over Advent just because it's socially acceptable to do.  This really awesome video does an excellent summary of Advent.

My favorite part?

"If you're sick of Christmas by December 25th, you haven't done Advent correctly."  My sentiments exactly; I don't want to be so worn out and overwhelmed by the weight we put on ourselves this time of year.  But, TBH, I get distracted by the less important but more socially promoted aspects of the season - gift exchanges (don't break the budget, but that shiny gadget would be perfect for X), events and parties to attend (fun but tiring and there are so many!), meal planning, hosting or gifts for the hosts, Christmas baking (excellent things individually, but they can get overwhelming).

I'm learning to do what I care about, do my best on my obligations, and don't beat myself up if my expectation and reality don't match!  I did recently have a wonderful God-moment that affirmed my hope for this season of anticipation.  The 3rd Sunday of Advent is called "Gaudete Sunday", which means "Rejoice!"  The rose colored candle on the Advent wreath reminds us that the time is near, and we are to be watchful and awake.

I played for Mass at St. Bons this weekend, and we were in the middle of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  Communion was just starting, and the song had begun.  We just started the 2nd verse of the song and the power went out in church.  The lights flickered on briefly, then went off again and stayed off.  It was late morning on a very sunny day, so while the power was out, we still had daylight streaming through the beautiful stained glass windows all along the body of the church.  We finished Mass in the slightly dim, natural light, with the flickering candles on the Advent wreath and at the altar.  (It was later determined that the entire area lost power due to some feisty squirrels.)

Once the initial surprise and confusion passed, it was a lovely, au natural liturgy.  But here's the real moment of beauty:  the piece we were singing as our Communion song had a very powerful impact, with some divine intervention, in my opinion.  We were singing Christ, Be Our Light by Bernadette Farrell.  If you're not familiar with the song, listen to the video or read the lyrics below.  It's a good song, with references to 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 8, and the themes of hope and light, stewardship and social concern that make this a fitting song for almost any Mass or liturgical season.  And so, we were singing it, on the 3rd Sunday of Advent - Gaudete/Rejoice Sunday, when the power went out. 

What beautiful timing and divine inspiration that took an unfortunate situation and graced it with new sight and sound.  As we sang the refrain, without benefit of microphones, everyone sang out, "Christ be our light . . . "  It felt as if we were living the song, recognizing the awesome power and mercy of God, and our total dependence on Christ.  It is Christ who IS the Light.  It is Christ who IS the Truth.  And we proclaimed it in, and maybe even more because of, the darkness we experienced.

As I've experienced in many songs and prayers through music, the songs we sing have a deeper insight and spirituality than we often realize.  I often think how differently the church would sound if everyone present fully believed what they were singing or saying.  Are we really asking Christ to be our light?  Do we want Him to shine in our darkness?  It's a little scary to think of the vulnerability required on our part.  Or maybe we want to control where the shining happens; shine over there, on that person, or on this little spot that I'm comfortable sharing, but don't look behind that locked door or into the corners of my soul. 

God works in many, many ways. Even as I was singing and playing, I marveled at the divine timing.  We sang all 5 verses, and Communion wasn't quite finished, so we went back to verse 1 again, singing our reality, "Longing for light, we wait in darkness. . . "  What better Advent preparation could there be?

I suspect that this song will never be the same for me.  I won't be able to sing it without being conscious of what I am praying. I hope that our church can continue to pray as intentionally and authentically as we did when we lost power during Communion, when Christ was our only 'light' and our community of faith invoked Christ's light in our lives in a very real way.  How will you respond to Christ's light this last week of Advent?

Christ Be Our Light - lyrics
Verse 1

Longing for light, we wait in darkness.
Longing for truth, we turn to you.
Make us your own, your holy people,
Light for the world to see.

Chorus

Christ, be our light!
Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in your church gathered today.

Verse 2

Longing for peace, our world is troubled.
Longing for hope, many despair.
Your word alone has power to save us.
Make us your living voice. (Chorus)

Verse 3

Longing for food, many are hungry.
Longing for water, many still thirst.
Make us your bread, broken for others,
Shared until all are fed. (Chorus)

Verse 4

Longing for shelter, many are homeless.
Longing for warmth, many are cold.
Make us your building, sheltering others,
Walls made of living stone. (Chorus)

Verse 5

Many the gifts, many the people,
Many the hearts that yearn to belong.
Let us be servants to one another,
Making your kingdom come. (Chorus)