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Put on the armor of light

Advent Candle

It's my favorite collect from the prayer book. (A collect is a collection of thoughts that make up a prayer.) It opens the new liturgical year, on the first Sunday of Advent.

The collect begins,

Almighty God, give us grace...

And the truth is, God is always giving us grace – which comes through a new insight, or a deeper sense of gratitude, or an unexpected gift that life provides which opens us up to an even deeper sense of gratitude – or a sense of mercy or healing or presence or...

And the more we pay attention to grace, the more grace shows up.

That we may cast away the works of darkness...

And the truth is, there is an awful lot of darkness. There are parts of the world – and indeed parts of our souls, that seem to be drowning in darkness – be it violence or illness or betrayal or deception or injustice or...

The darkness is real, and feels even more so as the days get shorter and the weather gets colder.

And put on the armor of light.

And the truth is, light casts out darkness. The tiniest amount of light can expose or destroy darkness. So we start with one candle, and as the season moves on, we light two, then three, and finally four. By Christmas, the light has overtaken the darkness.

Put on the armor of light. I used to think the armor was some sort of protection like Spider-Man's or Superman's suit. It isn't. I found that out the hard way. No, the light is guidance and faith. Guidance through the darkness of the world and of our own lives. And faith that the darkness cannot overcome the light.

As we live into this season of Advent, some questions emerge for me, which I pass on to you: What is that Advent light for you? Is it hope, or peace or commitment? Or God's mercy or Jesus' gift? Where does it come from? How do you put it on? How do you wear the light? And what darkness of the world can you bring that light into? How can you be a beacon – and a disciple, of Christ's light?

Pondering the opening collect of Advent can be an Advent project. Bring a candle.

Comments

I had never thought our armor as anything but protection. Thank you for the marvelous insight.

One of my favorite words because it encompasses a lot. The truth is, we have it in our lives every day, even amid the darkness and or deception. Grace is a path to one's internal truth.

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