DEVOTION

Surprising Light

ONE winter morning I left home early; the sun was rising behind me as I drove southwest. As I neared the coast, the radiant stillness of the morning spoke to me. It penetrated the road noise of the tires and the movement of my mind as I was thinking about the issues that I would face at the end of my journey.

Morning came to me in humble majesty and invited me to take it in. Yesterday was gone forever. The present moment was all there was, and it was a new morning. The morning said to me, "All is new; all is forgiven; all is light." And through the shining, I heard Christ's words, "See, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5). I could see that, and I was profoundly moved and profoundly grateful.

I had not stopped to take it all in, but it seemed that morning had stopped to take me in, graciously enfolding me in its beauty as I continued to drive. The rest of my journey, that morning's gift - an acute awareness of the transformation that comes with Immanuel, "God with us" - stayed with me.

John Franklin (New Zealand)
Prayer
O Christ, let your light surprise us today. Reassure us that there is nothing that cannot be transformed by your radiant presence. Come, holy Light. Amen.

By John Franklin