A Devotion for The Ninth Day of Christmas on January 2
Read John 1:1-18

“No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made God known.”

Ann Lomott tells the story of a friend of hers in her book Operating Instructions. The friend had put her toddler son into his playpen in a darkened room, while she tried to catch up on some work. “Her son somehow managed to get out and push in the little button on the doorknob. So he was calling to her, ‘Mommy, Mommy.’ After a moment, it became clear to him that his mother couldn’t open the door, and the panic set in. He began sobbing. So she ran around like crazy trying everything possible, like trying to get the front door key to work, calling the rental agency where she left a message on the machine, calling the manager of the condominium where she left another message, and running back to check in with her son every minute or so. And there he was in the dark, this terrified little child.”

“Finally she did the only thing she could, which was to slide her fingers underneath the door, where there was a one-inch space. She kept telling him over and over to bend down and find her fingers. Finally somehow he did. So they stayed like that for a really long time, on the floor, him holding onto her fingers in the dark. He stopped crying. She kept wanting to go call the fire department or something, but she felt that contact was the most important thing. She kept saying, ‘Open the door now,’ and every so often he’d jiggle the knob, and eventually, after maybe half and hour, it popped open.”

When the language of God seems foreign, when the room is dark and the door is locked and we only want to be free again, Christ is our hope. In Christ we see a crack of lighting spilling under the door. God has entered our world in Jesus . . . God was in Christ – reconciling the world unto God’s self. In him was life, and the life was the light of Humankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never conquered it.

Prayer: God of light and hope, For the light you sent in Bethlehem, for the child who grew up to be the very light of the world, we give thanks. When darkness falls around us, remind us that the light of Christ dwells among us, that you have come to walk with us through the darkness into your joy and peace. Amen.

Additional Advent & Christmastide Devotions can be found by clicking here:   Advent & Christmastide Devotions