While driving through the suburbs of our cities in the weeks leading up to Christmas one cannot but help notice the relatively recent but increasing phenomenon of the decorating of houses with lights. These are often highly ornate, creative (and expensive) displays, such that they become tourist attractions creating traffic jams in narrow suburban streets as families take their children to ‘see the lights’!
However, I am caused to muse on the great paradox demonstrated by this phenomenon of lights. For the explosion of lights is paralleled by a deepening darkness, the spiritual darkness descending on the Australian landscape, as the ‘light of the world‘ is increasingly excluded from public and community life.A darkness that is highlighted, despite all the hype of packed churches at Christmas, by the growth in ‘no religion’ box ticking in the national census, and the declining weekly church attendance figures. The Christmas lights increase apace as fast as the ‘True Light ‘ that ‘has come into the world‘ is dimmed by the tide of pagan darkness. The paradox is also highlighted by the lessening number of nativity scenes in the light displays.
Indeed – The More the Lights the More Darkness Deepens
unbounded church 