Arise! Your light has
come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you!
The Prophet Isaiah 60.1
Light;
darkness: that’s what this time of year is about isn’t it? Since the beginning
of November, when we changed our clocks back to Eastern Standard Time, evening
seems much darker. As we approach 21 December, the morning sun even rises later
– making our mornings dark as well, and our days shorter. When I first lived in Northwest Ohio, back in
2000, a parishioner at Salem said something that I have never forgotten. It’s
good to share our stories so that we can, as a community, deepen our faith in
God and our love for one another.
I remember
that I had commented to Gene that the days in Toledo seemed shorter than in
South Carolina – where I had just lived for almost 5 years. He got a smile on
his face and said, “Easter will have a new significance for you here in
Toledo.” I did not, at first, understand what he was saying. Of course, every
day was filled with new events and much significance. Every day, I met new
people, learned something new about ministry; why such an odd statement?
Well,
needless to say, when Easter Sunday rolled around, I had forgotten Gene’s
words. The “busyness” of planning and implementing Lenten services, extra
classes, funerals, emergencies, extra choir rehearsals, preparation of final
exams for my final months of internship, all of it kept me too busy to notice
the simpler things – like God’s presence.
When I awoke
on Easter morning, I went, as usual to worship and then a meal afterwards. It
wasn’t until the meal that I was able to relax and take in what had happened in
the past few weeks and months. And then, Gene walked up to me, hugged me and
said, “Happy Easter!” I remembered his words so many months before and I
remember feeling a sense of regret, because I had let so much opportunity go by
me – opportunity to stop and listen to “God with us”. Easter did hold a special significance for me
that year and it still does – especially since I have moved back to NW Ohio.
Truly this
is a darker time of year. It’s darker in many ways, not just in the amount of
sunlight that we receive during the day. It’s also a darker season because so
much clouds our vision from the reality of life – from the “reason for the
season” as someone once said. It’s no wonder to me that there is such a let
down, almost like a depression that sets in on our culture on 25 December: we
have seen trees since 1 November and heard Christmas music played all around us
since the same time. Everywhere, everyone is grasping for every straw she or he
can in order to find meaning in life; and yet, no one wants to struggle with
life itself – we want “comfort and joy” and we want it right now.
In holy
wisdom, the Church has given us a season of struggling with the challenges of
life in a meaningful way – a way that gives impetus to our hope and gives us
courage to go on. In Advent Season, the time of waiting for the Light of the
World to come to us, we proclaim to the world that struggle is real, that
suffering is hard and that there is hope in the God who makes promises to us –
even promises like becoming one of us, living with us, suffering for us and
rising for our salvation. The difficult part for us who now live in a time
after Jesus birth, life, death and resurrection, is to hold off until the 12
days of Christmas and to allow ourselves, body, soul and spirit, to slow down
and listen to the struggles within us as God deals with each one and overcomes
the evil in our lives.
In a culture
that increasingly seeks distractions to keep from seeing reality and
confronting struggle, Advent is the season for the Church to proclaim,
prophetically that there is another way to life. In a book I read recently, Can You Drink the Cup? by Henri J M Nouwen, I read the following
words that help to sum up what I have said: “Entertainment
is everything that gets and keeps our mind away from things that are hard to
face.” (p. 94) I wonder, if I had just
read those words while in Toledo, OH, if I could have slowed down and listened
to God speaking to me? I wonder if I could have allowed myself to face the
difficulties of life if I could have understood more fully the depth of the joy
of the prophet’s words, “Arise! Your light has come and the glory of the LORD
has shone upon you!” Too much water
under the bridge now, but I intend to allow this Advent to be different. I hope
you do, too.
God’s peace
and light guide you to the Light of the World during this Advent Season,
