Anybody in here can use some light? Can anybody use some reassurance that there is light coming for you? That whatever high-rise of despair that was erected while you were not looking, the light is still here? And would you like to stop worrying that it feels like someone is getting more light than you, or taking up all the limelight? There is light coming for you. And there is light coming from you.

John 1:6-9 reminds us, “There was a man sent from the God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.”

John was not known as a miracle worker. John was not known for his supernatural struggles or gifts. John was a believer and as a believer, he was made a witness by the light to testify on behalf of the light source. And that is the thing about testifying. It is your word against theirs. But if you see the light, see the hope, see the possibility, see the way out, see the way over, see the way through, see the way under—if you find the light source, the Divine, the purpose, the prayer, the dream, and it makes itself flesh for you—if the fire gets shut up in your bones, and you experience the light’s closeness in your ordinary life—then you must testify to that light. You must use your light, like theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, use your testimony to “Comfort the troubled, and trouble the comfortable.”

Share the good news that if you found the light then so can those who are struggling. Share the good news that one more payment is all it takes for someone’s lights to be restored. And let someone know that is hogging all the light, that if they are not the utility company, and they cannot control that illumination will come to us all. Tell them that you are going to let everyone know that it is all coming-to-light, and you will topple that monopoly.

“There was a man…” is all the scripture says. Not a great man. Not a rich man. Just a man. There was a woman with kids in tow walking home carrying groceries from Glide—There was man asking for change on the corner—There was a woman looking for a recovery meeting—There was an aging parent caring for an aging parent—There was a homeless family, with a pregnant woman, looking for housing, so they could give birth to the child safely somewhere—Not a great child, not a rich child. Just a child.

And if we can prepare, if we can know that no matter who we are, what we look like, what we have done, and or are doing—If we can grab ahold that there is not much different than a cigarette lighter and the sun, we will not miss the light in others. If we can let those who are different than us, less fortunate than us or standing crying out before us, not blind us to their suffering, but shine on us, we will feel the Sacred speaking to us through the most unlikely of prophets and we will know that we cannot miss the Divine light. Do not miss the light because it is easier to relegate people to the dark.

Believing in the light means you can trust that when it shows up, it will be timely and when it fades that it will return. The grace is that we can live knowing that the Divine appears in everything that is visible and by extension, everything is lit. Do not miss the light because it is easier to relegate people to the dark.

The Apostle John reminds us this advent season that the Divine is sending illumination into our darkness and tiredness. John is reminding that the Divine is and does send hope. John reminds us that light shows us that there will always be contrasts in our lives to show the Divine’s differences, the Divine’s purpose, and the purpose of creation. The Divine sends John, whose name means, “The grace or mercy of the Lord.” John reminds us that we are never far from the source. There is light coming. There is light right in front of you.

On my walk through the TL to Glide Memorial Church, I could see a shadowy figure of a man standing in a darkened doorway. He was crying. He was wailing. I could not have known the reason for his tears, but I felt them. They made me cry. I found myself softly weeping as well. I am not sure what burden or joy he was shouldering but through him, I felt the Divine. I felt the Divine saying that it is through this crying man that the Divine was reminding me that the Divine sends supply. The Divine sends help. The Divine makes it known that the Divine is always there for us. He was not the light. He was testifying to the Divine’s grace and mercy. His tears made me believe. The Divine’s light shined through him. He was a light right in front of me. Even light behind a cloud gives shape to it. Light shed onto a crime reveals clues. When we allow light to come in, we experience the Divine. There is no work to do but believe.

Astronomers teach us that the sun in the sky is actually a past sun. It takes 8 and 1/3 minutes for sunlight to reach the earth. The sun is “8 light minutes” from the earth. Rest assured that its coming. Rest assured that you will experience it.

Anybody in here can use some light? Can anybody use some reassurance that there is light coming for you?

There is light coming for you.

And there is light coming from you deposited for someone 8-minutes, 8-miles, 8-steps away.

Amen.