It’s not surprising, then, that humans have been attempting to make meaning out of light for millenia. Light has become a powerful metaphor, expressing the power and beauty of hope and love. For what inspires us to joy more than the setting colors of night, with the knowledge that the sun will greet us again in the morning. 

As we continue to attempt meaning from light, we have various religious and spiritual traditions along the way. Christians understand all light and love coming from the Divine Creator, and at Christmas celebrate a particularly intense form of that loving light breaking into the world in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Jewish people understand that same Creator granting light to the people of Israel, guiding them into a place of liberation and freedom. The prophets–weird, wild, and wonderful holy people throughout the ages–have used images and metaphors of light to understand that God’s love is experienced in a radiance which transforms lives in very real and very practical ways.

As we prepare to wrap up this semester and head into our Winter Break, may the light of hope, joy, peace, and love be with you and those you care for. May we know that although there are moments infused with sorrow, brighter days lay ahead. 

Seabury Hall has an amazing capacity for sharing light with one another–light which inspires and transcends the most challenging, bleak days. As we go on break, may we find–in the holiday season–rest and refreshment that helps rediscover the light within us and all around us: light which renews and recreates; light which is always surprising and always new.