Read Isaiah 30:19-26.
Like the Light of the Son
There is a part in Michael Cervantes’ masterpiece Don Quixote, wherein Don Quixote and his companion Sancho encounter another knight and his squire, deep in the woods, under the cover of darkness. Although ready to fight one another, all parties agree to wait until morning, that they might face one another after sizing up their opponent. The squire declares, “God will bring us His light, and then we’ll see what we’ll see.”*
We like to know what we’re up against. We want the illumination of day to bring us clarity. Light sounds like the answer to all of our problems. We forget that in the darkness we get to conceal all of the things that we’d rather not see. To this end, Isaiah promises a light that is overwhelming in its brightness, yet healing in its coming. We are not promised that we will like what we see, the idols and afflictions illuminated on that day. Yet we are promised comfort, our Teacher, seen at last and guiding us forward, and the healing that comes with the dawn.
Pray
In the waiting of Advent, we find ourselves peering through darkness, impatient for the light that we so anxiously anticipate. Lord, give us patience in our waiting; do not allow us to adjust our eyes to the temporary darkness, that the light may not blind us when it dawns. Let us listen for you calling, knowing that you are drawing near. Help us bring our shame and hurt into your glory, that these things may fade away in the sunshine, made new by the light of day. In your son’s name we pray, amen.
Ellen Louise Keyser Endelman
Seminary Student
* Saavedra Miguel Cervantes, The History of That Ingenious Gentleman Don Quijote De La Mancha, Trans. Burton Raffel (New York: Norton, 1996).
Words for Waiting 