It has always been about light. As humans we have always searched for ways to create light, to stand in light, to hold the light before us. We are held in the delicate balance of darkness and light in our daily living and have, over time, tried in gentle and desperate ways to be in control of this light. To a certain degree we have had success by lighting up the night sky in ways that shield us from ever needing to embrace the gifts of darkness. Like most successes, it is a double edged sword.
Tomorrow we begin the Season of Advent in the Christian household. This is the marking of the four weeks that lead to the celebration of Christmas. Advent comes from the Latin word ‘adventus’ meaning ‘coming’. Those of us in the the northern climes have been experiencing the darkness of the days that also lead us toward the Winter Solstice, the date at which more light begins to accompany our living. It is out of this experience that the Christian tradition of the Advent wreath was born.
Several years ago I came across the account of how the pre-Christian people who also experienced this darkness would, instead of fighting against it, embrace what was happening in their world. They would remove a wheel from their wagon and bring it inside. This would call a halt to their work outside and cause them to alter their regular movement in the world. Laying the wheel on a table, they would decorate it with candles and other gifts of the fields. Slowly over the weeks they would light candles in an effort to call the light back so they could once again be about their life and work in the world. At some point in time, this practice took on the symbols of waiting and watching for the Light of the Christ Child which we celebrate at Christmas.
I have always loved this account of how we came to integrate into our Christian tradition this wisdom of our ancestors. It has always been about the Light. While the ancients had the wisdom to stop what they were doing and live in harmony with the rhythms of Creation, we now tend to fight against the waning light and the encroaching darkness. But what would happen if we also embraced the darkness and even metaphorically took the wheel off whatever drives our life and work. What if, instead of ramping up our activity and flooding our homes with light, we would instead stop, light a single candle, and reflect on what the darkness has to teach us?
That is a gift of the season of Advent. The days are meant to be shrouded in waiting. Watching. Expectation. Preparation. These are all acts that can happen in quieter ways than most of us experience in December. These can become practices that can ground us and center us to be able to make room for the ways in which Christ is being born in our own lives, the lives of those we love and in the life of the world.
The faith community of which I am blessed to be a part has chosen the theme ‘Let It Be’ to travel with us during these Advent days. It is a theme that fits well with the idea of taking the wheel off whatever propels us forward at sometimes frantic spaces. Let it be…the darkness is the gift of Creation’s dance with the Sun and the Moon. Let it be…the rhythm of winter is moving in and calling us to its gifts. Let it be…the sacred stories that remind us of the Presence of the Holy’s constant companionship are meant to be savored and held dear. Let it be…the light which we so often long for comes to us in small and ever-increasing flickers.
What is driving you these December days? How might you remove that wheel in order to be more present to the gifts of darkness, the gift of slowing down and resting in the glow of a single light? How might such an act become a practice for arriving at Christmas with a deeper understanding of your own spirit, your own walk with God?
Ten years ago, I began this blog during the season of Advent offering the invitation to do just that. Pause. Rest. Reflect. Wait for what God is birthing in your life. The invitation is extended once again as we begin this precious, holy season. May you be surrounded by darkness that teaches and enough light to show the way. Blessed be.
