How many of you were familiar with the line of the series: There’s a crack, a crack, in everything, that’s how the light gets in. It’s from a Leonard Cohen piece called Anthem.

The universe cracked open billions of years ago to let the light out… Just as we heard in our reading from Genesis, God said, “Let there be light and there was light… and God saw that the light was good.” Not perfect, but good. And the writer of John’s gospel called Jesus the light of the world, present from the beginning of the world. Not as an exclusive statement, but as a statement of who Jesus was for him and his community. The writers for both these scriptures were reminding their communities that there was something bigger and beyond the world in which they and we lived.

And that no matter what the present circumstances, there is a way of finding the light. In the midst of global instability, human rights being trampled on not just where we’ve come to expect it, but south of our undefended border, with disinformation rampant and suffering all around, it’s easy to despair. Along with short days, darkness and cold nights, those who are prone to depression in the winter, it’s so easy to forget about the light. It is so easy to become captivated and riveted by the bad news that is very real. In the midst of horrific happenings and threats, it’s easy to believe that we and the world with it are doomed. I am not denying it.

But words of scripture… and music get me through…

The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don’t dwell on what has passed away
Or what is yet to be

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in

Listen to these stories of the light coming through the cracks: one local, one national, and one international.

How many of you have been to the Christmas Light display on Connaught Avenue? Two brothers, Nick and Carman Giacomantonio, are known for their elaborate Christmas light displays. While bringing enjoyment to the community, they also raise thousands of dollars for local charities like Family SOS and local food banks, turning a festive display into an act of community support. Literally Light in the World! They don’t just crack open the darkness, they tear it apart and laugh at it!

There is a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in…

Land Over Landings is an organization that is rooted in the farming communities where I was first in ministry in southern Ontario. When I received their profile, back in 2004, one of the things they included was that they were still dealing with the fallout from the expropriation of land to build a second Toronto airport.

My first thought when I read that was didn’t this happen in the 70s? I lived in Toronto in the 70s and vaguely remember the expropriation but didn’t think too much of it. In 1972, the federal government expropriated 18,600 acres of prime Class 1 farmland northeast of Toronto for a proposed airport, inflicting lasting trauma on landowners and the surrounding community.

An organization, People or Planes was formed, marches were held, equipment was tampered with… In 1975 the airport was shelved when the provincial govt. under Bill Davis refused to provide the infrastructure. This was followed by Voters Organized to Cancel the Airport Lands in the 1990s. Land Over Landings was formed in January 2005 and has spent the past 20 years resisting evictions, preventing demolitions, and advocating for the permanent protection of this farmland.

Over the years, renewed airport announcements raised fears on a regular basis, though construction never proceeded, and two thirds of the acreage was transferred to the neighbouring Rouge National Urban Park. Opposition to the airport remained strong and continuous over five decades.

In 2018 Land Over Landings commissioned an agricultural economics study titled A Future for the Lands. The study demonstrated that a development strategy centred on diversified agriculture, supported by agri-tourism, eco-tourism, and trail tourism, could generate more than 2,100 new jobs and nearly $240 million in annual economic activity. Beyond economic benefits, such a plan would safeguard an irreplaceable natural asset, create opportunities for new farmers to establish their livelihoods, and help revive nearby hamlets that have suffered economically from decades of uncertainty.

In January 2025, the federal government officially ended the long-standing plan to build an international airport on the Pickering Federal Lands, bringing to a close a 53-year period of uncertainty for the region. This announcement lifts a decades-long cloud that has overshadowed the Pickering Lands and marks what advocates describe as the first day of a positive future for the area.

Although the airport was never built, the land remains under federal control, but under Parks Canada. Community leaders emphasize that the movement was never solely about stopping an airport, but about securing a sustainable, prosperous future rooted in agriculture, environmental protection, and public access to nature. With the airport threat finally removed, advocates look ahead to a renewed vision for the Pickering Lands, one that honours past losses while protecting the land, water, air, and soil for future generations.

Many people, being the light in the world. Persistent light in the world! Creating cracks in the darkness.

And internationally, we know the story of Ahmed al Ahmed, the Syrian born Australian man who tackled a gunman during a terrorist attack during a Hannukah celebration in Bondi Beach. He says this, “My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people.” Mr. Ahmed described the inner thoughts running through his head in the lead-up to his actions, which authorities and politicians have said saved countless lives. “Emotionally, I’m doing something, which is I feel something, a power in my body, my brain,”

“I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to see blood, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help. That’s my soul asking me to do that.”

Light in the World. Cracking open the darkness of hatred into love for his neighbour.

In the end, faith is not about denying the darkness or pretending the world is whole and healed. It is about learning to notice the cracks and trusting that God’s light still shines through them.

From the first words of creation to the light that drew the Magi onward without a clear destination, from Leonard Cohen’s broken hallelujahs to the everyday courage of people who choose love, justice, and compassion, we are reminded that light does not wait for perfection. It shows up in persistence, in community, in brave acts of care, and in songs sung even when our voices tremble.

So may we keep ringing the bells that still can ring. May we follow the light we are given, however uncertain the path. And may we, in our own broken and beautiful lives, dare to sing hallelujah, holy and imperfect, trusting that this, too, is how the light gets in.

Thanks be to God for the challenge and the opportunity. Amen.

Genesis 1: 1-5
John 1: 1-5
Matthew 2: 1-12