The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
Sometimes I get funny looks when I say that I prefer to watch the sunrise over sunset. I get it: you have to get up extremely early and the sun takes quite a long time to illuminate the sky. It can also be pretty chilly at sunrise, plus the darkness before dawn can be a scary thing to walk and wait through.
I love the sunrise because of these things. After a long night (and boy is the night long on the East Coast these days!), nothing fills me with more hope and anticipation than knowing that the sun is coming to light up my surroundings and provide me with a fresh perspective on yesterday’s experiences. I feel its warmth on my face and I feel alive with the day’s promises.
Today’s Gospel is filled with imagery of Christ as light. He is the “light of the human race,” and the “true light which enlightens everyone.” The promise of His arrival into our world and into our lives brings meaning and salvation to the darkest corners of our hearts. He burns off the fog that blinds us to what’s important and illuminates our path, showing us the way forward and fulfilling promises long foretold.
I spend a lot of time in the darkness. Maybe you do too. You may understand how seemingly endless the night can sometimes be, and how it at times feels like too much to bear. It can be tempting to lose hope in the promises Christ has made to us. To you I say, awake from your slumber. Jesus came to us first as a baby, helpless and dependent. He was our new day dawning, and His light rose over the earth -- slowly and gradually, but surely. The sun, my friends, always rises. And He is with us until the end of the age.
The world rejoices today. Let the light of His love and the constancy of His presence give you hope. May we hold on to His promise of a new day when night falls again.
Perpetua Charles works as a book publicist in Boston, Massachusetts. She loves the Lord, TV, Disney princesses, books, 90s-00s teen pop, and the color pink. Say hi on Instagram!