Early Morning in the Dark Time

Moving through December we are entering the dark times. In these days we constantly chase the light.

O Lord our God, through Jesus Christ, we thank you for the morning light
and your protection through the dark from the terrors of the night.
Guide us as we venture into this new day that our lives may display your love and glory to a world fumbling in the gloom.
This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)

Amen

I walk in the morning just as the daylight arrives.
In front of me the Cornerstone cross and dome stand out against the cold, pale sky of dawn.
I am chasing the light, opening the curtains, lighting the candle to accompany prayer.
The day may bring cares and sighing, boring work of mindless repetition, action or inaction, bringing the darkness closer in.
Still, I keep chasing the light.

Lord God, help us to live today as your fellowship of blazing light.
When the mood is dark, help us with your light of love; when the mood is weary, refresh us with your light.
When we are searching for care or comfort or calm, keep us in your light along the way.
You wrap yourself in light like a cloak and stretch out the stars of heaven like a tent (Psalm 104:2).
In the name of Christ our light we pray.

Amen

It feels like this Advent is racing towards Christmas in fear – will this year be truly different from the last?
The world is barely closer to prioritising peace or repairing the planet,
inequality and poverty continue their increase,
desperate refugees from cruelty and the fear of death continue to chase the light through unspeakable terror.
For all of these there is only the hope of light, the hope of welcome.

We pray to God for the people who live in these dark corners, where light seldom penetrates.
Lord, lift their eyes to you. Increase their hope, touch their lives with your Advent light and, most of all, guide us to do all we can to bring them relief,
to bring them light for with you is the fountain of life: in your light we see light (Psalm 36:9).

Amen

Chasing the light in darkness is what this Advent season demands.
We demonstrate our journey of hope through fairy lights and candles,
glinting baubles, magnifying the light, and shiny evergreens reminiscent of eternal life.
He tells us that we are light for all the world: a town that stands on a hill cannot be hidden.
The Cornerstone cross stands on the lantern, a light for all who live within its beam.

O Lord, as the noisy world shouts its wares and the distractions of daily life encroach on prayer and blissful silence,
keep us safe today within your light.
Keep our grip firm and eyes wide open to receive the light.
Give us courage to share the light with people fleeing darkness.
You are the fountain of life: in your light we see light.

Amen

Now, may the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore as we greet the light of the second Friday in December 2021.

Amen

Cheryl Montgomery