“There were shepherds watching over their flocks by night

An angel of the LORD appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone’

Light in the darkness. That’s what Christmas is about, according to the Bible. Light breaking into darkness. 

The world is a very dark place sometimes. Most of the time we don’t walk around saying ‘the world’s a dark place.’ we don’t look at it frontally all the time - we can’t. But then the next tragic event strikes - and the fact of the world’s darkness presses down on you. 

When tragedies happen - we take action, we seek solutions… and that’s right. That’s many people’s job. But JRR Tolkein’s words on the lips of Gandalf ring true: “Always after a defeat and a respite the Shadow takes another shape and grows again.” The Shadow: darkness; evil “after a defeat and a respite …takes another shape and grows again” 

But Christmas…

far from being intended as a temporary seasonal escape from the darkness. 

Christmas is about God’s plan to deal with the Darkness.

‘The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light!’