Light of the World

“Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to thee be all glory given; Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.”

- O Come All Ye Faithful.

Christmas morning: I woke up early and spent a good part of the morning reading the bible. Chapter 8 of the gospel of John focused on a conversation between Jesus and the religious leaders of that time:

Jesus: I am the light of the world. So, if you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, for living light will flood your path.

Pharisees: You are boasting and lying!

Jesus: These claims are true... for I know where I come from and where I am going... you pass judgment on me without knowing the facts.

My meditation wanders toward the significance of light. Somehow, Christmas will not be the same without lights. Can you imagine a Christmas tree that is filled with ornaments and trimmings but has no lights? Or imagine the bustling Orchard Road in Singapore without the Christmas light-up in December! Indeed, there was a tv program this afternoon which documents the growing phenomena of Christmas lights and the people who compete against their neighbours to create the most elaborate Christmas display in town. So, what does "the Light of the World" mean?

The Bible proclaims that God is Light! In him, there is no darkness at all. Light represents what is good, pure, true, holy and reliable. Darkness represents what is sinful and evil. The statement "God is Light" means that God is perfectly holy and true and that He alone can guide us out of the darkness of sin. Light is also related to truth in that light exposes whatever exists, whether it is good or bad. In the dark, good and evil look alike; in the light, they can be clearly distinguished (source: LAB).

In the old days, candles were burnt to symbolize the pillar of fire that led the people of Israel through the desert (Exodus 13: 21-22). In this context, Jesus called himself the Light of the World. In his light, I can see myself as who I really am. He light the path ahead of me so I can see where I am heading. More than just enabling my vision, the Light of the World has the power to remove the darkness of sin from my life.

Art: The Light of the World (1853–54) is an allegorical painting by William Holman Hunt. 50 years after painting it, Hunt felt he had to explain the symbolism. The painting represents the figure of Jesus preparing to knock on an overgrown and long-unopened door, illustrating Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me". The door in the painting has no handle, and can therefore only be opened from the inside, representing "the obstinately shut mind". The original is now in a side room off the large chapel at Keble Collge, Oxford. Toward the end of his life, Hunt painted a life-size version, which was hung in St Pauls' Cathedral, London (source: wikepedia).

What else we did on Christmas: On Christmas day, we attended a Christmas service (11 am) at our previous church. This was followed by lunch with Bob's family (right). On Christmas eve, the night before, our cell group had a social gathering at Melvin and Ada's home. Besides having dinner together (left), we sung some carols, exchanged gifts, reflected on how God has saw us through 2008, and shared our wishes and prayers for 2009.

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..And the light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it (John 1:5).
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reflection: so, who is the light of your world?