“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined” (Isa 9:2). Seven hundred years before the first Christmas, God gave these words through the prophet Isaiah. Many centuries passed until, just three months before this long awaited Christmas day, this prophecy was echoed in the canticle of Zachariah: “…the day shall dawn upon us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:78–79). 

These prophets invoke the image of a sunrise to express a new hope coming into the world. This image is powerful and telling: by the light of his face, God would shatter the darkness of ignorance and dispel the looming shadow of death. The clouds of sin that had amassed and blocked our view would be exposed by the light of his truth and burned away by the warmth of his compassion. But, his coming would be ushered in first by the Virgin Mary, the morning star, who draws us out from this valley of tears into the light of her son.

Six days before Christmas then, let us look forward with excited anticipation to the coming of the Son.

Long have we wandered in this valley dark,
Aimlessly lost.
From the path we’ve been tossed.
Tears have fallen as we bewailed our plight;
So long and dark has been this weary night.

Oppressive clouds made the night still darker.
The overcast
Has let no moonlight past.
We’ve tried to find our way back home in vain.
With no light for guide, how could hope remain?

‘Til there appeared over the horizon:
The morning star
Which glimmered from afar.
Reminding us of promise once foretold—
That this long night would soon release its hold.

Lo! long and dark this night had been, but now:
The morning breaks!
A tender glow, as dawn awakes
The broad sky with light so slight, yet certain,
Piercing through the clouds that were a curtain.

The clouds which had obscured our view now shine
With crimson hue,
And greater light is due:
Presently the night will be undone
While we await the coming of the Son.

✠

Photo by Ravi Sharma (Unsplash)