Shine
Author: Andrew Comiskey
January 11, 2021
‘Arise, shine, for your
light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the
earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon
you and His glory appears over you’ (Is. 60:1, 2).
Reflecting Jesus’ light
just got harder. For this exile, anyway. The mandate of the magi remains: arise
from worshipping the Child-King, go back out into the gloom and burn gloriously
for Him. I am unsteady on that pilgrim road today. The gloom obstructs my gaze
upon His glory.
Why so? The warmth of the
creche gave way to the chill of hard realities. I encountered unexpected personal
challenges that undercut my confidence. And the lilt of carols gave way to the
din of DC, with a sore loser president whipping up loyalists into vile,
irrational acts of violence that subvert our democracy.
I am a Kingdom citizen
before I am an American of any political party. Right or left, I stand first
for Christ and will not bend the knee to mob-driven ‘conspiracy theory’
nonsense.
Gloom. Those who trust in
princes falter. I strain to see the Child-King through the haze and trust He
makes the way sure when I cannot see my feet or path. On this dismal landscape,
I fail at first things: to love Annette well, to be generous and attentive to others
who need me most.
I get low. I kneel and lament
(
Click here to check out my son Nick’s good words on this). I am grateful for tears; they
release my soul while impassioned words only clutter it. He is there. He dwells
in our ‘little place of absolute poverty’ (Merton) gloriously.
I arise. I will shine for
Him. The gloom demands the radiant witness of radical wholeness. Though He
invites all to integrity, only the surrendered realize it. He summons us to
make known the dignity of man and woman for each other.
Never before has this
witness of radical wholeness been more relevant. Prepare now on your knees.
Nancy Pelosi and her ‘House’ just advanced a new language rule for Congress
that ‘honors all gender identities by changing pronouns (him and her become “them”)
and familial relationships (mother and father become “parents”) in the House
rules to be gender neutral.’
Fueled by Trump’s vandals,
the new DC will advance sexual identity politics—redefining common sense sexual
realities into neutralized unrealities—with a vengeance. Any group that refuses
to recognize sexual identity politics on par with racial equality will be
targeted.
Shine. Radiant witnesses
of radical wholeness break the haze and make clear the path for whoever will.
‘The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’ (Jn. 1:5).
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