This Sunday, our Church will hold its annual candlelight program. Yes, we do it on Sunday morning, not on Christmas Eve. A few years ago, I decided, with the leadership of the Church, that we would worship on Sunday morning and celebrate Christmas then, no matter when the twenty-fifth fell.

Our Church building has eight windows in the auditorium, and I have boards and cardboard to black them out for the morning. Sure, it seems like a hassle, but it is one of my favorite programs of the year. The lights will be dim, and almost everything will be illuminated by candlelight. At the end, people will hold up a personal candle as we sing Silent Night. And every year, it stirs emotions deep inside me.

Why do we do it all by candlelight? The goal is to underline the coming of Jesus as the light of the world. The Apostle John in the introduction to his gospel says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5)

Jesus comes as a light into a dark world, and more specifically, the darkness in our lives, and the darkness cannot defeat it. At Christmas, the light is small as he arrives as a baby, but by Easter, the light will shine like the sunrise.  

So for Christmas, we light candles and shine a tiny light. It is symbolic. It is emotional. It is all about Jesus.