For most of my life, I could not imagine a rainbow at Christmastime. In the tropics, maybe. In the summer, sure. But here on California's Central Coast, winter is rainbow season. I took this picture from our deck yesterday.
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light," the prophet Isaiah writes. "The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it," claims John's Gospel. Texts like this reinforce our notion of duality - good and evil, night and day.
But rainbows. Rainbows challenge that notion. Water refracts and reflects pure light, to make all the colors of the rainbow. And it is glorious.
The Christmas carol Silent Night refers to Jesus as "Son of God, love's true light." The apostrophe makes all the difference. We do not claim that Jesus loves true light. We claim that Jesus is love's true light.
We are the raindrops, the fog, the mist. When light shines on us we reflect and refract it and we become the rainbow. A beautiful reminder of the power of love to persist, to break through storm clouds, to create harmony out of chaos.
Turns out a rainbow is a pretty great symbol for Christmas. The light shines. Watch for rainbows.
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