I reflect on the verses in 1 John 2: 12-17 today because they keep the Christmas story alive for me. Not only does God come nearer to us at Christmas with the birth of the Christ child, but we can also be even more confident of God’s strength in our lives through the word of God that has come alive among us. It is not only at Christmas time that the Lord our King has shown a great light upon the earth. Yet now that the excitement of Christmas is over, our friends and families have all gone home, and the long dark nights of winter surround us, many people face the long winter with sadness when they should be facing the days ahead with gladness. A great light still shines upon the earth!
Our readings today remind us that we can continue to feel close to the light love of God by staying close to the will and word of God. It seems to me that the Christmas season is often more about the things of this world than a focus on our relationship with God. Now that all the frivolities are over, we can focus more on the true meaning of Christmas. God has indeed come nearer to us. The coming of Christ means our sins are forgiven, and evil is conquered. We are no longer defined by our sins, but by the word of God. The distractions of commercial Christmas often distract us from these truths. That was especially true for me when I was younger. As I grow older, I celebrate Christmas differently than I did when I was young. I would look forward to the great light upon the earth as a renewal of the Bethlehem blessed event. It filled me with warmth and joy. That was often difficult to sustain during the bleak, dark winters of the Midwest. But over the years, that light-filled event has also come to fill me with confidence. That light has taken on a different and much larger dimension in my life.
Growing in faith and understanding of Christ as the light of the world has made Christmas so much more meaningful for me. All the enticements of the magic of Christmas in the things of this world not only distract us, but they fall away. But the true light of Christmas can give us confidence in our relationship with God, our father, and the strength we are given to conquer evil through the word of God. I can more confidently go into the darkness of winter and even certainly the darkness of my own sins, knowing I am defined by a loving relationship with God. It is my prayer that, in the days following Christmas, we can each find that light in our own lives and draw strength from it.
Barbara Dilly
I came to Creighton in 2000 and retired in 2020. My twenty years of teaching, research and service in the Jesuit tradition enhanced my own life. It was an exciting time of celebration. I loved teaching and interacting with Creighton students because they responded so eagerly to the Ignatian pedagogical emphasis on the development of the whole person. It is this spirit of whole person development and celebration of life that I hope to infuse in my reflection writings.
My academic background is eclectic, preparing me well for the Liberal Arts academic environment at Creighton. I earned my BA in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA in 1988 and my Ph.D. in Comparative Cultures from the University of California, Irvine in 1994. My research focused on rural communities in the American Midwest, Latin America, and Australia. I taught Environmental Anthropology, Qualitative Research Methods, Social and Cultural Theory, and Food Studies courses.
I retired to Shell Rock, a small rural community in Northeast Iowa where I enjoy gardening, cooking, quilting, driving my 65 Impala convertible an my 49 Willys Jeepster. I have lots of fun playing my guitars with friends from the Cedar Valley Acoustic Guitar Association. But most importantly, I am still working to make my community and rural America a better place. I host a community quilt studio and serve on the Mission Board of my church. I also serve as the Climate Committee Chair and on the Executive Board of the Center for Rural Affairs.
