If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.-- Psalm 95:8
Mass readings: Deuteronomy 18:15-20 / 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 / Mark 1:21-28
A few homes usually have outdoor Christmas lights still lit as February arrives. I sometimes speculate on why, although I suspect it's seldom anything more eccentric than ''just didn't get around to them yet.'' But that explains only why the lights are still there, not why they're still kept lit.
One year my wife and I ''just didn't get around to them'' ourselves until . . . considerably after Christmas. We too kept the lights lit each night. It seemed to be a way of saying that life can still be ''Christmassy'' -- warm, festive, and full of Jesus -- even if the season is past. In time, of course, the lights simply must come down. Christmas lights competing with tulips does look eccentric. Then we have to be our own year-round Christmas lights.
Prayer: Lord, help me let Your light shine in every season.