Candle

Christmas season is a time of contrast. The dark of winter and the lights of Christmas decorations. The idea of peace and the rush, rush, rush of Americans doing their Christmas traditions. Let’s think about the contrast between darkness and light.

Electricity is new. For most of the history of humans, light came from candles or flame of some kind. Have you ever been in a place that was completely dark, like a cave, and lit one match? Describe the experience. A match does not give a lot of light, but if it is the only light in darkness it seems to give a very big amount of light. How do you feel when the electricity stops working? What do you do? Are you prepared for it? Does this often happen in your native country? Tell a story about this.

Do you like candles or fires for atmosphere? Give examples.

During World War II, houses along the coast of California had to keep their windows completely covered at night. No light was allowed to be seen from the outside. There were no street lights, nothing! My father was a child of about 8 or 9 at that time. His job was to run up and down the streets in his neighborhood, checking for visible light. Would you like to have that job? Why or why not? Can you think of situations in life when it’s good for things to be hidden? Describe them.

Think of a time in your life when your life seemed dark to you. We can say that you felt like there was “a dark cloud over your head”. Tell about that time. What made it feel so dark? What made the dark time stop? Was there some kind of light that came into your life? What was the light – a person, a change in location or situation, a change in attitude?

An American song is titled: “You Light Up My Life”. What do you think the writer means by this phrase? Is there a person or persons who lights up your life? Tell about them.

Here are some light idioms – her face “lit up”, I’m “in the dark” about that, after I hit my head, “everything went dark”, let’s “shed some light on the subject”, he can’t “hold a candle to it”.

Isaiah speaks about the coming of Jesus, 700 years before he was born,

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them . .

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor and

Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace.”

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7