Happy Solstice!

Some conservative Christians might call me pagan but I can’t wait for the Winter Solstice.  The older I get the harder it is for me to handle living midway between the equator and the North Pole.  I make December 21 a goal to reach knowing that from that date the days will lengthen.

I don’t believe I suffer from Seasonal Affect Disorder but I certainly can sympathize with those who do.  Experts in the field tell us we should especially spend time outdoors during December’s daylight hours as if we are some sort of human solar panel absorbing the sun.  Those experts seem to forget, however, that we also have some pretty gloomy days during the month.  Our human panels do not absorb too much solar energy.

A hundred years ago when I was in college, I spent a semester in Germany.  At the end of the semester we spent a long weekend in Berlin at 52^o latitude where the days are even shorter.  Back in the days of the Cold War and where there is little difference between dawn and dusk, the gray days only contributed to the eeriness of a divided city.

It was no accident that the church fathers settled on December 25^th to celebrate the birth of Jesus. (I had one church member once who was adamant that the true birthday of Jesus was 12/25/0000, even if a lunar calendar was followed in Bethlehem at the time.)  The church fathers introduced Christian celebrations to coincide with pagan observances.  The Nativity was then scheduled to occur about the same time as Saturnalia, a celebration of the solstice.  Aha!  It would be something special and positive to celebrate in an otherwise depressing time of year.

Christmas becomes such a fantastic, living metaphor for the season’s darkness. St. John wrote:  The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.  (John 1:5).  But then, I realize our Christmas language is all focused on the northern hemisphere.  I wonder how my kinfolk in Australia speak of the holiday during the peak of the summer season.  I would be happy to do the research if I have enough sponsors.

Here’s the point:  If we don’t have the light, then we will have to be the light.  We are just going to have to pull off that bushel basket that has been hiding our light and let our light so shine.  Maybe it’s a light of beauty and creativity for a drab and lackluster world.  Maybe it’s a light of compassion and generosity for a world that has grown cold and selfish.  Maybe it’s a light of healing and peace for a world that knows brokenness and hurt.

In one shape or form, let there be light!