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The night is far gone; the day is near.
Let us then throw off the works of darkness
and put on the armor of light.
—Romans 13.12
Oh, we still dwell in night;
the day we long for, aching, we don’t yet see.
Advent comes unseasonably among us,
a rose in winter, too soon blooming,
yet opening still, a dawning even in the night,
a light not seen but known, relied upon.
O Light of Hope, not merely dreaming
of some better time, but trusting, now, the Mystery,
not mastered or deserved but purely given,
grant us that light, and let us shine
with the warmth and brightness
of your love for us.
Your light will be our armor in these jagged times.
It won’t defend us from life’s pain,
but from the darkness trying to seep in,
the death of care that is our deepest night.
Our trust in grace will shine and light our way,
and so, among a billion hoping hearts,
your Christ will come, and find a manger here,
and even in the midnight world’s deep gloom
a dawn will rise.
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