The Light Shines in the Darkness

Fr. William Wainio
Dec 26, 2025
3 min read

The following was a homily that Fr. Wainio preached on Christmas at St. Patrick and The University Parish Newman Center, Kent Ohio.

Tonight, the Church places before us one of the most beautiful and profound passages in all of Scripture. St. John does not give us shepherds or angels or a manger scene. Instead, he gives us a single, powerful proclamation:

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

John is honest about the world into which Jesus is born. He does not pretend that everything is peaceful and bright. He speaks plainly of darkness—real darkness. The kind of darkness that comes from fear and uncertainty. The darkness of grief and loneliness. The darkness of sin, broken relationships, and weary hearts.

And if we are honest, many of us come to Christmas carrying some of that darkness with us. For some, this is the first Christmas without a loved one. For others, family gatherings are complicated, or the joy we once felt seems harder to find. The world itself feels heavy at times, and even the light of Christmas can feel dim.

But notice what John does—and what he does not do.

He does not say the darkness disappears.

He does not say the darkness never existed.

He says something far more powerful:

The darkness did not overcome the light.

Christmas is not the denial of darkness. Christmas is God’s answer to it.

The Light does not wait for the darkness to clear before coming. The Light enters into it. The Word becomes flesh—not in a palace, not in safety, but in vulnerability. God chooses to step into the very places we would rather avoid. He enters our suffering, our uncertainty, our brokenness.

And that Light is not fragile.

So often we imagine light as something easily extinguished—like a candle in the wind. But the Light that is Christ is not weak. Darkness does not conquer light; light conquers darkness simply by being present. Even the smallest light changes everything.

This is the hope of Christmas: no darkness we face is stronger than Christ.

Not the darkness of sin—because grace is stronger.Not the darkness of death—because life has entered the world.Not the darkness of despair—because hope now has a name.

And that name is Jesus.

John tells us that this Light is not just something to admire from a distance. It is a Light meant to be received. Christ comes to dwell among us, to walk with us, and to shine through us.

Which means that Christmas does not end tonight. The Light we celebrate here is meant to go with us—into our homes, our families, our workplaces, and our struggles. We are called to carry Christ’s light into places where hope feels thin, where forgiveness is hard, and where love seems costly.

Tonight, God does not ask us to fix the darkness of the world. He simply asks us to trust the Light.

To trust that even when we cannot see the way forward, Christ is already there.To trust that no matter how long the night feels, the Light has come—and it cannot be overcome.

That is the good news of Christmas.

That is the promise we celebrate.

And that is the hope we carry with us tonight.

I closed this years homily with a prayer I first heard at the dinning room table of my friends, Dr. John & Mrs. Carmen Roebke

God of joy,

the earth is full of hurt and sadness.

But you have given us a reason to sing about joy.

The poor and less fortunate are the majority when we count all the world's people.

But you have given the world a reason to sing about hope.

Our world feels old and tired.

But you have taught us to sing about new birth.

Teach us to rejoice in you always.