When You Know Morning Has Come

John 1:5,9 – The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. (NRSV)

Of late, I have become somewhat obsessed with the dawn, the morning clothed in ever-changing radiance, which I have captured scores of times with my camera — and still, I cannot do it justice. One of my favourite shots is of the first sliver that heralds the dawn, that moment when the world is still in total darkness, yet, without a doubt, the end of the night is guaranteed by that barely discernible glow. That glow changes everything.

There is a story from the Hasidic tradition about a rabbi who was asked one day by a student, "How can one tell when the new day has come?"

The rabbi reversed the question and asked his student, "You tell me how you can know."

The student guessed, "Is it when the rooster crows to signal a new dawn?"

"No," the rabbi answered.

"Is it then perhaps when one can discern the silhouette of a tree against the sky?"

"No," he was told.

"The surest way to know when the night is over and when a new day has come is when you can look into the face of a stranger, one who is so different from you, and recognize him as your brother. See her as your sister. Until that day comes, it will always be night."

The dawn broke for us when the glimmer of light first came in the Word made flesh. All the powers of the night were futile with the dawning of the age of the Son of God.

With this dawning day, we are invited, once again, to see the face of Christ in everyone we meet, and to pray that everyone we meet may see even a glimmer of the Christ in us.

Prayer: Let the rain come and wash away the ancient grudges, the bitter hatreds held and nurtured over generations. Let the rain wash away the memory of the hurt, the neglect. Then let the sun come out and fill the sky with rainbows. Let the warmth of the sun heal us wherever we are broken. Let it burn away the fog so that we can see each other clearly, so that we can see beyond labels, beyond accents, gender or skin colour. Let the warmth and brightness of the sun melt our selfishness, so that we can share the joys and feel the sorrows of our neighbours. And let the light of the sun be so strong that we will see all people as our neighbours. Let the earth, nourished by rain, bring forth flowers to surround us with beauty. And let the mountains teach our hearts to reach upward to heaven. Amen. – Rabbi Harold S. Kushner

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