O Light of Lights,
Radiant and Eternal Father, You who dwell above the highest heavens, whose glory gilds every sunrise, whose laughter rolls like thunder through eternity , we come to You in wonder. You are the Fountain of Delight, the Flame that does not consume but creates, the Dance at the center of all things. You are joy in its first form, goodness before the world had shape, beauty too bright for even angels to name. All that is lovely flows from You.
All that is pure begins with You. All that is bright reflects You. “You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering Yourself with light as with a garment” (Psalm 104:1–2).“ The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1) You do not battle darkness; You banish it by simply being. You stretch out the skies like silk and scatter galaxies like blossoms across the void. You color the fields with every shade of joy. You breathe, and life rushes in. “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:6). “In Your presence, there is fullness of joy, at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). We do not come begging. We come beholding.
We do not lift weary eyes. We lift bright ones, shining with the light. You placed inside us. For “the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day” (Proverbs 4:18). “Arise, shine, for Your light has come, and the glory of the aloes has risen upon You” (Isaiah 60:1).
Let every breath be a note of gladness. Let every heartbeat be a bell of praise. Let our lives be lanterns burning with Your brilliance. “He brought me to the banqueting house, and His banner over me was love” (Song of Songs 2:4). “My beloved speaks and says to me, ‘Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away’” (Song of Songs 2:10).
You are not only King of the Universe You are the Bridegroom of our souls, delighting in us with a love fierce and tender, ancient and ever new. O God of Light, Let no shadow linger in our speech. Let no fear remain in our footsteps. Let no sorrow silence our song. We praise You not because of what has passed but because of what always is You. Forever holy, Forever joyful, Forever light.
So we rise not with grief but with gladness, not with ashes but with anthems, not with longing but with laughter, like children in the courts of their Father. “The Lord is my strength and my song, He has become my salvation“ (Psalm 118:14). “I’ll sing to the Lord as long as I live, I will sing praise to my God while I have being” (Psalm 104:33). For You are the Song that never fades, the Light that never dims, the Glory that will have no end. We rejoice in You now brightly, boldly, boundlessly. “In Your light do we see light” (Psalm 36:9). And it is glorious.
In the precious name of the True Light.
Amen.