January 1st Reflection - The Blessing of the Light - by Bill Lynch

Isaiah 60:1-6

Arise, shine; for your light has come,
   and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
   and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
   and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
   and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look around;
   they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
   and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
   your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
   the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of camels shall cover you,
   the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
   all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
   and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

Reflection - The Blessing of the Light
It's true! Jesus has a way of bringing people together. People of all places, of all nations and of all times. Jesus has a way about it all that unites families and individuals. We all come in curiosity to see what this Light is all about. We all get up and look. We all gather together and travel what ever distance it takes to see the light of Jesus. We gather in our homes, we gather in our churches, we gather in our times to seek and follow the light of Jesus.

And as we gather we see Jesus. We see Jesus in the love of God. Something special occurs in the gathering. We begin to follow Jesus and we take on the traits that God would have us take on and begin to radiate that Light to all the world in word and action. Yes, we begin to love one another as God has loved us through this wonderful gift of life in Jesus.

With our sins and our differences put aside, with our judgments and our prejudice and our selfish greed set aside; we come together with the one purpose of following the light of Jesus. Yes, we follow Jesus and listen to his Word and lovingly look to God for guidance in this world of sin and death.

We praise the name of God in Jesus, knowing that Jesus will come again to make that final stand against sin, death and the devil. We come together in unity and hope for what God has done through Jesus and what God has done through his Church and what God will do in all finality.

Look to the heavens and catch the glimpse of all Children of God coming together, gathering, around the throne. All people throughout all the centuries of time coming together at that great banquet feast when we complete that awesome prayer of "Come, Lord Jesus, come!"

Yes, Jesus has come! Look to that Light! Yes, Jesus is with us always and the Holy Spirit is here and now to gather us together, to call us, to gift us and to send us out in love in the name of Jesus. Yes... "Come, Lord Jesus come!" has flowered into reality.

"Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these awesome gifts be blessed!... Yes, the Light has come and we are blessed! Thanks be to God!

Prayer
Lord, gather us in. Gather us together in your Light! Gather us and bring us together in the gift of your grace and love. Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest and let your awesome gifts be blessed... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen