“The light shines in the darkness,” says the apostle John speaking of Jesus, “but the darkness did not overpower it” (1:5 NASB margin). Light, in the form of photons, on the one hand, exhibits qualities of both particles and of waves (scienceabc.com).
But darkness, on the other hand, is simply the absence of light—it is nothing. Therefore, when light shines, darkness is helpless against it. The light of Jesus outshone the self-righteous religious leaders of Jesus’ day. It also outshone the secular power of the most powerful empire the world had known. Jesus’ self-sacrificing love broke the will of those most hardened against it. In Jesus the light of God shines still. Even today, while news reports of ethnic/religious cleansing of Christians abound world-wide, little-acknowledged revivals of people coming to Jesus proliferate.
Do what it will, the world’s hostility (whether from atheist, religious, or secular sources) cannot overpower Jesus. Remember, when you shine the light of Jesus in your world, darkness stands helpless against it.
I wish you and your loved ones a truly Blessed Christmas.