On Christmas Day, we light the Christ Candle. This symbolises Jesus, the Light of the World, has come. Jesus came to bring hope, peace, joy and love to a world of darkness and despair.
Would you come into a filthy manger on a dark and cold night? Would you identify with the poor and rejected in society? If you were the king, would you stoop down to be a servant?
Most likely, we would not. Yet, God’s Son did.
Jesus, the Son of God, came into this world as a helpless baby. Jesus, the Creator of the universe, was not born in a palace with servants waiting upon Him. Instead, He was born in a stable: a smelly, dark, and dirty place. He was born among the lowly and, therefore, identifies with the rejected and the poor in society.
Why? Because He loves us. Jesus chose to forsake all the glories of Heaven and enter into this world as a human being like us, just to show us that this is what love is.
We light the pink candle in the Advent wreath today, which symbolizes Joy. Joy does not equate with happiness. Rather, it is deep-rooted in peace that we can rest in God admit life’s difficulties.
Jesus came into this world as a baby. His birth was a great news of great joy because He, the Son of God, Emmanuel, came to live among us. died for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Today, we can wait with joy that He will come back again for us and bring us into His eternal Kingdom.
The second Sunday of Advent pepares us of the coming Kingdom of God: one that is of peace, justice and righteousness. In God’s Kingdom, there will be no division, no disunity, no hatred. In our everyday living, God also gives us peace. Though we are living in challenging times, the peace that comes from God shows us that we are not alone. We know He is with us.
