Voila, the latest newsletter article for our church newsletter. I process through talking especially during difficult or challenging times. Aren't these rather difficult times politically, economically, even ecclesiastically? It's good to know, at least for me, that God isn't just a Prozac pill that makes us happy and joyful all the time - because I am not always in a good humor! God, instead, meets us in the midst of everything and promises to be with us in the reality of struggle. There's something powerful in that promise for me. If we are all honest, we all struggle and those are good news words for all of us! Anyway, read on...

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,