28 December 2022 The Holy Innocents, Martyrs
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
From 1 John 1:5-2:2 ,NRSV
On the day that the Church recalls a very dark and sad event – the Massacre of the Holy Innocents – we hear a reading that makes much of the symbol of light. John tells us that there is no darkness in God and that those who wish to be in fellowship with God must choose to walk in light. There can be no doubt that the children we remember today had no darkness in them and that their brief lives gave glory to God. But what of us – how can we ensure that we walk in light – does this mean we have to be perfect? Perhaps the final phrase gives us the reassurance that sinless perfection is not what is required but perhaps an awareness of our sin and desire to be reconciled and to make the conscious effort to “walk in the light”.
- How do you interpret the phrase “God is light”?
- What can help or hinder our desire to “walk in the light”?
You may like to pray today for all children whose lives are “darkened” by want, cruelty, war or illness.
