“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” (Hebrews 1:1-3)

The prophets were the mouthpieces of God. They could begin their prophecies with the words: “Thus saith the Lord.” But, in contrast with them, is the coming of the Messiah, God the Son, the fulfillment of all the promises, and the agent of creation. This Son is the radiance of God’s glory. He doesn’t just tell us what God says, or what God is like; he shows us the face of God, who God is. He is the “radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” Christ is the supreme and final revelation of the Father. “Radiance” describes the analogy of the sunshine conveying the brightness and intensity of the sun. Jesus the Christ, born in Bethlehem, is the bearer of the light of God, as light shines illuminating our world and enabling us to see.

The implication is that we can see the face of God clearly as light through the radiance of Christ. As St. Paul expressed it, “For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)

We would not know that God is light except through the coming of Christ. Our knowledge of God would be much more remote and limited without the coming of Christ. The ancient world knew God as the “Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.” (1 Timothy 6:15,16)

Jesus brought this unapproachable light into our world to reveal that God is goodness and truth. His coming dispelled and overcame the darkness of the shadow of death, the result of the error and evil of humanity. “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it (or overcome it)…. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” (John 1:5,9)

The coming of Christ to Bethlehem is the coming of the Lightbearer. The tradition of Christmas lights festooning trees and buildings is the demonstration of this truth. It is the joyous celebration of light breaking into a world that would be dark without Jesus. He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” (John 12:46)

He demonstrated this claim by his healing of the man born blind. (John 9) The Pharisees refused to admit the possibility that Jesus could bring healing light to the blind man. They could not accept that God has revealed himself in one greater than the prophets. When they questioned the blind man about his healing they asked, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” When the blind man answered they hurled insults at him and said, “We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” The healed man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

Jesus, when he heard about it, said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.” (John 9:39, The Message)

The radiance of God’s glory has come into our neighborhood to bring the light of the face of God: that God is goodness and the truth, so that the blind will see. Those who reject him will choose darkness. Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless; but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.” (John 9:41, The Message)

The message to our world of the coming of Christ at Christmas, which is passed on from one generation to another, is this: “God is light, pure light; there’s not one trace of darkness in him.” He comes to bring us light, to bring us sight, to banish and to heal our darkness, whatever it may be. But we must be willing to come into that light and to live in it day by day. It is not a matter of believing only, but also of doing, of living it out. “If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth – we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son purges all our sin.” (1 John 1:5-7, The Message)

This face of God continues to shine on us through Christ through death to the new heavens and the new earth. We are told that in the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, “the city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light…for there will be no night there… There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 21:23-25; 22:5)

The coming of Christ into our world, the coming of Christ into our lives by faith, brings the radiance of God’s glory, the assurance that God is goodness and truth, who wants us to live in his eternal light, and walk every day in that light. That is the only way to banish the darkness.

The Rev. Ted Schroder is the pastor of Amelia Island Plantation in Florida.