Were you afraid of the dark when you were a child? I was. The chore I dreaded most was taking the trash to the curb. The 25-yard walk down the driveway in the quiet darkness seemed more like a 2.5-mile gauntlet. I was sure that robbers and coyotes were crouching in the bushes, ready to spring their attack on me under the veil of darkness.

Later, at night, I would lie frozen in my bed, afraid of what lay behind my closet door. What monster lurked, waiting for me to fall asleep?

In George Lucas’s Star War universe, the Light and Dark sides of the force vie for power. The forces are equal in power, and the outcome is in jeopardy. There is no guaranteed victor.

Good thing we live in God’s universe and not Lucas’s! Christmas reminds us that history does not hang in the balance. The Light will overcome.

In his introduction to his gospel, John explains that Jesus is the light:

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.