The good news of Christmas only makes sense if we understand the bad news first. The bad news is that we live in the shadow of darkness. We see news of the darkness in Paris or Syria or read about corruption and murder in the newspaper. It’s not just on the news, many of us have experienced this darkness as pain or loss in our own lives. But it’s not just out there, there’s darkness in our own hearts as well. Martin Luther King Jr said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” We need a light in the darkness. Remember the Chilean miners stuck at the bottom of the copper mine in 2010, trapped 700 meters below ground but discovered alive after 17 days? Imagine their despair at being trapped in the darkness and then imagine their joy the moment the first torchlight burst through! Jesus is a light bursting through the darkness of this world and even rescuing us from the darkness of our own hearts. This is the good news of Christmas and why it’s such a celebration. Jesus is the light that has come into the world. - My contribution to the Wimmera Mail Times, Christmas Edition, 2015.
[Photo taken by Paul Carracher of the Wimmera Mail Times, January 2015]