Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island and other classics, grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland in the 19th century. At the end of each day, as darkness spread over the city, Robert would watch with fascination as the lamplighters came down the street, lighting the gas street lamps.
One evening, seeing their son with his face pressed against the window, Robert’s parents asked him what he was looking at. Robert replied excitedly, “Look at that man! He’s punching holes in the darkness!”
Long ago Jesus, the light of the world, was born in a dirty stable on a cold, dark night. Like the lamplighter’s in Edinburgh, Jesus came to punch holes in the darkness. He came to bring joy and hope, to light the way to a brand new day.
Now, over 2000 years later, it seems to many that Light has gone out. COVID-19, political unrest, conflict, and natural disasters have left them reeling, their “hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth…” (Luke 21:26). For many, as they look towards the future, they see only darkness, with not even a glimmer of light.
But that Light still shines! It shines in you and I, in all God’s children. We, like Jesus before us, “are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14). As we go about our daily lives, sharing a kind word or a helping hand with those we meet, we too are “punching holes in the darkness”, helping others see the Light.
This Christmas season, as we celebrate “the Light”, let us determine to punch holes in the darkness wherever we go. Like St. Francis, let our prayer be:
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
Let’s let the Light shine through us this season, bringing joy and hope wherever we go. Together let’s start “punching holes in the darkness” today, bringing the Light to everyone we meet!