Tonight is the eve of the Winter Solstice…..the shortest day and longest night of the year. It is a particularly rich time of year for those of us living in the northern hemisphere. As darkness has descended over the last weeks, we can trick ourselves into thinking that winter is on the wane. Of course, it is really only beginning. I need only look out my window to confirm this fact. Snow is once again falling like the final scene of White Christmas. However, unlike Bing and his sidekicks, we are not waiting for snow to come to the ski hills. We have plenty to begin with, thank you very much.

Tonight’s observance brings with it a special feature. Tonight there will be a total eclipse of the full moon.The last year North America saw a total lunar eclipse on the winter solstice was 1638. The next is 2094 – making this event a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But as I look out my window the skies are so cloudy, it is doubtful whether or not we will be able to see this ‘once in a lifetime’ event.  It is said that the moon will be in a reddish shadow for up to three hours around the time of the eclipse. But will we be able to see?

This question has been following me around all day, nagging at me. Because…….I want to see it! But, then again, there are so many things I want to see, that we all want to see, that remain hidden, invisible to our human eyes. And there are many events which happen that change the course of our lives that remain unseen to us. It is a fact of living. The sheer desire for seeing is often outside our control. Anyone who has lived more than a few years knows this to be the truth.

And so tonight, as the snow falls once again on our streets and sidewalks, I will pinch myself to stay awake to look at the early morning sky. I will scour the heavens for a glimpse of red, or a moment of deep darkness that allows me to know the eclipse is indeed happening.  I will count it among all the unseen things I long to see and believe in. Things like peace and angels, miracles and even God.  This total eclipse is one more message that we are all a part of a vast and amazing Universe. Whether we believe it or not. Whether we can see or not. The apostle Paul said it this way: “For now we see in a glass darkly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

For this Winter Solstice 2010, that will have to suffice. Blessed be.