The altar hanging at an English Advent service was made of midnight
blue, with these words across its top: "We thank you that darkness
reminds us of light." Facing all who gathered there to give thanks were
images of night creatures - a large moth, an owl, a badger, and a bat -
cryptic and somewhat mysterious creatures that can only be encountered
in the darkness.
As
light ebbs from the days and the skies of fall, many in the Northern
Hemisphere associate dark with the spooks and skeletons of secular
Hallowe'en celebrations. That English church has reclaimed the
connection between creator, creation, and the potential holiness of all
that is. It is a fitting reorientation toward the coming of One who has
altered those relationships toward new possibilities for healing and
redemption.
Advent
leads us into darkness and decreasing light. Our bodies slow
imperceptibly with shorter days and longer nights, and the merriness and
frantic activity around us are often merely signs of eager hunger for
light and healing and wholeness.
The
Incarnation, the coming of God among us in human flesh, happened in
such a quiet and out of the way place that few noticed at first. Yet
the impact on human existence has been like a bolt of lightning that
continues to grow and generate new life and fire in all who share that
hunger.
Jesus
is among us like a flitting moth - will we notice his presence in the
street-sleeper? He pierces the dark like a silent, streaking owl
seeking food for hungry and defenseless nestlings. He will overturn
this world's unjust foundations like badgers undermining a crooked
wall. Like the bat's sonar, his call comes to each one uniquely - have
we heard his urgent "come and follow"?
God
is among us, and within us, and around us, encountering, nudging,
loving, transforming the world and its creatures toward the glorious
dream the shepherds announced so many years ago, toward the beloved
community of prophetic dreams, and the nightwatch that proclaims "all is
well, fear not, the Lord is here."
May
Christ be born anew in you this Christmastide. May his light burn in
you, and may you labor to spread it in the darkness. The people who
walked in darkness have seen a great light, and it is the harbinger of
peace for all creation.
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
