Weekly Reflection – Lights in the World

The necessity of light has been very much on my mind in the last week or so. Weather reports have noted the lack of daylight this month – the result, apparently, of high pressure causing moisture to become trapped as low cloud that blocks the sun, creating ‘anticyclonic gloom’, as the BBC news website poetically put it. But the gloominess has not been entirely material. The past week, I think it’s fair to say, has not been a good one for the Church of England. There’s been plenty of gloom in the newspapers following the Makin Report’s trenchant criticism of the particular role played by the Archbishop of Canterbury, within the wider institutional failings of the Church of England, to deal adequately with the revelation of decades of horrific abuse by John Smyth. His subsequent resignation speaks to the shock that many feel that despite all the policies and procedures that have been put in place in recent years the Church still has work to do when it comes to keeping vulnerable people safe and to confronting abusive behaviour.

As Christians we are called to live in the light. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus tells his followers that they are ‘the light of the world’ which cannot be hidden, and so we have no business skulking around in the shadows. If we are serious about following Christ then we must respond to his call to be a transformative presence in the world, where we bring light and hope to others, especially those who are suffering and afraid. At Christmas we will hear again that light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it. And if the news reports of the past few days point to anything it’s that we all have a responsibility to shine that light wherever we encounter the darkness and pain of sin.

As we continue to journey through this gloomy month I pray that God will give each one of us the wisdom, compassion, vigilance, and pastoral care that we need to be beacons of Christ’s light in our world.

In Christ,
Canon Kathryn