December 19, 2023 Day 14

Matthew 5: 14-16

14“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Krista Tippet’s book Becoming Wise is worth your time to read. In one part of it, Tippet interviews Jewish physician Rachel Naomi Remen who recounts her Hasidic rabbi grandfather’s strange, mystical story of creation. I was moved by his interpretation of the creation story.

In the beginning, there was only God, the divine light, who was the source of life. God created the universe using the divine light and gave it to humanity to tend. But humanity broke the universe and the light was scattered and became hidden. God sent more light into creation and gave humanity “… the capacity to find the hidden light in all events and all people, to lift it up and make it visible once again and thereby restore the innate wholeness of the world. … It’s the restoration of the world.”

Remen goes on to say something profound.

And this [restoration of the world] is, of course a collective task. It involves all people who have ever been born, all people presently alive, all people yet to be born. We are healers of the world. That story opens a sense of possibility. It’s not about healing the world by making a huge difference. It’s about healing the world that touches you, that’s around you.



Think about that during Advent. Through the lens of the New Testament, Jesus was that “more light” who came to heal the whole world. As Jesus disciples, we are called to continue the healing – to whatever part of the world that touches us. What part of the world can you enlighten and heal? Something to ponder this Advent.