Erin Manning Verducci; St. Luke’s member since 2004; Chancel Choir President

Isaiah 60:1-3 (NIV)
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.
Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Reflection:
It was late morning on November 15, 2012, my youngest son’s fifth birthday.  I had rearranged my schedule so I could take him to lunch. As I rushed out of the office to retrieve him from pre-school, my cell phone rang.  The caller ID reported the dermatologist’s office number. Distractedly I answered, assuming it was the nurse calling to tell me those couple little moles were benign—come back in a year.  When I heard my colleague’s voice on the line, I froze.  Melanoma…the phone number to MD Anderson…probably early-stage…too soon to tell…we’ll forward your medical records…call if you have questions.

And darkness covered the earth,
thick darkness covered all its peoples. 

I’m a physician, and, sadly, I’ve made that same phone call many times.  But at 41 years of age, I was not supposed to be the recipient of that call.  Not yet.  My boys were 6 and 5; I had a busy gynecologic practice.  There was still work to be done.

The next five weeks were a blur.  Two CAT scans, one ultrasound, three doctor visits, four Sunday processionals, one surgery, two incisions, nineteen sutures, and many tears.  Hope, hope, hope. Please God, please God, please God.  That was all I could muster.

Finally the call came:  surgical margins were clear and lymph nodes were negative for malignancy.  When I texted Sid Davis, Director Music and Fine Arts, the good news, I’ll never forget his reply: “Let’s have Christmas!”

Arise, shine, for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord rises upon you.

Today’s scripture passage from the great prophet Isaiah reminds us that there will be darkness, darkness over all the earth and all its people.  2020 certainly has been that.  But this passage also gives us hope.  Hope for that light, that eternal light, that our Creator promised us.  In four short phrases, Isaiah gives us the essence of our God and his creation.  During this season of Advent, let us look up from our world of darkness and hope for the light of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

Father God, thank you for your creation, the darkness and the light.  Thank you for the ancient prophets, who spoke of hope.  And thank you for your son Jesus, the Eternal Light. Amen.