This past week, our Wild Church gathered around a fire, ate roasted port, drank wassail, and welcomed the return of the sun for Winter Solstice. I have never celebrated the solstices let alone acknowledged their significance. Now it feels like each morning is filled with anticipation as the light begins to stretch out her weary arms, taking up more space in our days. It can be painfully subtle and requires much patience to watch for the light to return but she is, at her own pace and in her own way. Even if or when the snow comes in the early new year, she is not so easily scared off because her light shines even brighter against a winter backdrop. Yet, she knows, as we all do, that winter has just begun and spring is still far off. Winter’s presence and its accompanying darkness still hold fast to the days ahead. And once we’ve taken down our Christmas decor and are recovering from the holiday hustle, what’s left are months of darkness and chills that reach to the bone as we wait for the light to return. The tendency to hide out in our homes will grow stronger. Daily chores will feel increasingly harder. Connecting with friends and family will take a back seat to another night at home curled up on the couch. There is no guilt in this, we all need seasons of hibernation. And yet, much like our more-than-human friends, we need to find ways to emerge from the winter holes we’ve dug and observe winter’s conversion.
Today is Christmas Eve, another notch in our spiritual calendar that marks the coming of Christ, another Light being born on the earth. The Hebrew people waited for hundreds of years for their Messiah to come and he did, at his own pace and in his own way. But it was painfully subtle and required patience as his people waited for him to grow from the cradle to being the Light of the world. They must have grown tired of waiting, unsure the Light would ever come. I’m positive life seemed harder as they went about their lives, watching generation after generation pass, living under the harsh Roman government.
It is well understood that the birth of Christ did not take place on December 25th. Yet as Christianity began to spread and interact with other cultures, the church eventually decided to put Christmas near the celebration of the Winter Solstice. The celebrations for both held undeniable similarities, you could even say they were complimentary but as celebrations of Christmas began to grow and dare I say become overly commercialized, the ancient traditions that pre-dated Christianity began to fall away from sight. But there is no denying the change we feel in the earth during this season. The light does begin to return. We feel it on our skin and we witness it with our eyes each morning. We are only months away from being able to start seeds for our gardens and trim our fruit trees to prepare them for spring. Even with the tradition of Winter Solstice no longer celebrated throughout much of the earth, she is still with us whether we recognize her or not. And let us also remember that many people did not recognize the Christ when he came. But to those who are awake, watching and witnessing the changes around us, we are the ones who can see.
A scripture and a poem for this Christmas Eve
He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings utter darkness into the light. (Job 12:22)
To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.
To know the dark, go dark. Go without sight,
and find that the dark, too, blooms and sings,
and is traveled by dark feet and dark wings.Wendell Berry
Let us not rush the light. This is a day full of celebration and yet, we will have many dark days ahead and much waiting to do. God desires to reveal what lurks in the darkness. It may be subtle and require extra patience but there are things blooming among the shadows. Go dark, my friends, and welcome her presence. You will not be lost but will gain knowledge of the True Light that has come into the world this day. Go dark, and wait for what will be revealed in time but it’ll be at its own pace, and in its own way. Our eyes will adjust, seeing once again what grows even in the darkest of places. To know darkness is to know ourselves. To welcome darkness is to know the abis of God, an endless dark ocean teaming with life. To know the light is to know the one who speaks, let there be…But to know both, we must traverse both lands. God will reveal herself in subtleties: a winter breeze on a dark morning, the soft skin of an infant child, and even light from a single candle. If our eyes are open, we will see and know. We will find the patience to wait, we will learn the lessons given, and when the Light finally shows herself, we will be awake to receive it.
Merry Christmas and Happy Winter Solstice.
Many blessings,
Suggested Spiritual Practice for Christmas morning
On Christmas morning, I encourage you to wake up before the sun (which isn’t too hard these days) and keep the lights off. Instead, illuminate your home with only candlelight and wait for the sun to appear on the horizon. Make your coffee by candlelight. Gaze out a window into the dark night sky. Even if you only get a few moments before the rest of the house is awake, take these moments to welcome the darkness and ready yourself for the Light to come. If you so choose to, make this a regular practice in this season of darkness.
This is inspiring. ❤️