At two of the worship services held here on Christmas eve, worshippers had the opportunity to light and hold candles as they joined in singing carols.
At the 2:30 service of Remembrance Hope and Healing, a small group of worshippers gathered in a circle around the communion table as they held their candles. As the candlelight shone around the circle, I noticed tears on some of the faces
- tears of grief as folks remembered loved ones who would not be part of their circle of celebration this Christmas
-tears mixed with joy and sadness that often accompany the comfort and healing we experience even in times of sorrow and pain.
After the service was over a few people stayed back, holding on to their lit candles for a while longer, each in their own way, drawn to the light.
At 10:30 on Christmas eve, we lit candles again and light shone from every corner of this worship space. Holding candles high, we sang ‘Joy to the World’ and it truly was a moment to experience the wonder and glory in our celebration of Christ’s birth. People often remark that this is the high point of the worship for them - they too are drawn to the light.
The front page of yesterday’s Star shows a picture of Ian Rengel, the brother Stefanie who was murdered on New Year’s Day. Ian is holding a candle at a vigil where 400 people turned out to mourn and honour Stefanie. The Friday night candlelight vigil began at Presteign-Woodbine United Church, Stefanie’s church home, and then proceeded to Stefanie’s home.
Scott Patton, who is the minister of the congregation and an organizer of the vigil, expressed why such candlelight vigils draw people together when he said,
"We cherish Stefanie's memory, we are greatly saddened by her loss but also, we do not lose hope. Normally one might think it's perhaps a bit inappropriate to talk about hope in a situation like this, but that's what gets us through. And it's things like the community gathering and showing that support that gives us a sense of hope even in this terrible tragedy."
Victoria Ham, one of Stefanie’s friends described Stefanie as a ray of light and then asked the question that was on many hearts, "Why would anyone want to put out that light?"
Light is an important symbol and source of hope and life in our world.
Today as the Christmas Season comes to an end and we enter the season of Epiphany, we gather as a people who are drawn to the light; we gather as a people who seek to live in the light of Christ.
And through our own experience and through the experiences of our biblical ancestors, we know that when we are drawn to the light of Christ, we are most certainly drawn into glorious occasions that radiate celebration and joy. And we know that this same light does not stop shining in times of darkness and shadows. And so it’s important to remember that as we are drawn to the light of Christ, we will also be called upon to bear that light in the midst of the shadows that are cast by pain and violence and sorrow.
For you see, while we may all enjoy the pageantry of the central Epiphany story of the Magi who follow the light of the star to the Christ child, we must not leave out or soften the Herod factor. Herod the Great, as he was called, suffered from a legendary jealousy and paranoia. His fears of plots against him resulted not only in the deaths of enemies real and imagined, but in his ordering the execution of at least two of his own sons and one of his wives. It is this same Herod who is crafty in deceiving the Magi and who in his belief that Jesus is a threat to his throne, orders the massacre of all the children in the region who are two years and under.
With all of its wonder and terror, Matthew’s story of the magi expresses essential truths of our faith in this Epiphany season. The love of God in Christ is born into our world, into some of the most inhospitable and hostile places, but this does nothing to diminish or extinguish the light that continues to shine in the darkness. And this light is so compelling that in spite of the threats of the darkness and the potential risks to themselves, people are drawn to the light.
They embark on journeys that will lead them to unexpected places where they find the one whose light shines on them and illuminates the presence of hope and love, healing and peace. And in this presence they can’t help but respond by offering their gifts to the light and by their offerings the light grows stronger in a shadowed world.
And so in this Epiphany Season, 400 people in Toronto’s east end, walked with hope, holding up the light in a community stunned and grieving in the darkness of violence that ended a young girl’s life.
In this Epiphany Season, Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who has gifts for the work of peace and reconciliation, has journeyed to Kenya to uphold the light in a country shadowed by conflict and its own fiery massacre of the innocents.
In this Epiphany Season, where is the light of Christ drawing you? What journey will you embark upon in this new year? How will you offer your gifts to strengthen the work of Christ’s light to bring hope and healing, wisdom and truth, love and peace into your own circle of family, work and friends, into this community of faith, and into the larger community and this world that we are called to serve?
As we enter this new year, we embark on the 20th anniversary of Erin Mills United Church and on the 35th anniversary of the ministry and presence of the United Church in Erin Mills. As we mark this special year, I invite us to celebrate taking time to discern where we are being drawn by the light of Christ - what new journey lies before us? what unique opportunities are given to us to shine with the light of Christ and to strengthen the light in our world?
In the next few months, you’ll be invited to be part of this discernment as we decide prayerfully together where the light of Christ is leading us. And wherever we are led, may we let our light shine!
Amen.
