Words of Light and Hope from Tony Hawes

Words of Light and Hope

7th January 2023

From Tony Hawes           

Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.                       Isaiah 60.1.

As with gladness men of old,
Did the guiding star behold,
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onwards beaming bright,
So, most gracious God, may we
Evermore be led to thee.                                                        W. Chatterton Dix.

The birth of Christ in our souls is for a purpose
beyond ourselves. It is because his manifestation
in the world must be through us.
Every Christian is, as it were, part of the dust-laden
air which shall radiate the glowing epiphany of God,
catch and reflect his golden light.
You are the light of the world – but only because
you are enkindled, made radiant by the one Light
of the World.                                                                            Evelyn Underhill.

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of
the year: ‘Give me a light that I may tread
safely into the unknown.’
And he replied: ‘Go out into the darkness and
put your hand into the hand of God. That shall
be to you better than light and safer than a
known way.’                                                                            Minnie Louise Haskins.

O God, who by the leading of a star, manifested
your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith,
may at last behold your glory face to face. Amen.           Common Worship.