Within the cycle of the seasons, we know that now is a time when more darkness surrounds us, wrapping us in a black shroud that causes our energies to wane. The first day of winter, December 21st, marks the time of year when the darkness will give way to the light. Together with all of creation in our Northern Hemisphere, we remember that this longest night of the year is a promising sign that the sun will return to lengthen our days.
Nature has much to teach us about light and darkness:
Experiencing the radiance of the sun lifts our spirits.
It is a delight to see a rainbow of magnificent colour arch across a once stormy sky.
We are filled with wonder and awe, as we look up to see the silvery moon and the vast array of diamond-like stars, against a grey-black back drop.
Fireflies flitting past us create sparks of light in an otherwise dark night.
The paradox of the process of transformation is that although we need light for our life’s journey we also need darkness. Our body was formed in the darkness of our mother’s womb. When we are born, we enter into the light where we grow and change. The intertwining of light and darkness is the pattern for the rest of our lives. Waiting anxiously in the darkness of night, we yearn for the first glimmer of the light of dawn. After a trying, bleak day, the hues of brilliant colour that appear on the horizon as the sun sets, offer hope for a brighter tomorrow. During this reflective time of day, perhaps we will recall our mortality when our earthly life will end, in the seeming darkness of death, and we will be drawn into the eternal light of our loving God.
As we begin Advent, we long for the Light of Christ to dispel our inner darkness of weariness, disillusionment, and despair. As we move through the four weeks leading up to Christmas, more light appears on our Advent wreathes until the Christ candle brilliantly shines out. Christ, Our Hope, is the everlasting Light which no darkness can overcome.
Ponderings:
Where do you find light when you experience deep darkness in your life?
How are you a Christ-light in the darkness of other people’s lives?
Kathleen O’Keefe CSJ