Advent & a Starry Black Night

 

But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see ‘the Son of Humankind coming in clouds’ with great power and glory.  Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven...

from the Advent 1 Gospel reading, Mark 13: 24-37

I came across a devotional resource for Advent which appears to be from three years ago but which uses the same scripture passages as this year because of the lectionary cycle It's called Starry Black Night: A Womanist Advent Devotional. All the writers are Black women,as the title suggests, and I appreciated the first reflection called The Luminous Darkness by Kelle J. Brown. Here are a couple of paragraphs but it's worth reading in its entirety: 

This Advent season asks questions of us.  We are missing something when we spend our time longing for the light while missing the treasure in this darkness. Why do so many linger immobilized, counting down to the lighter days? Advent reminds us to value every state in which we find ourselves, especially as we stand waiting in the dark.

We are in a time in history where the suffering is great, where it seems the sun is less radiant, and the moon will not give its light; a time where day by day the very stars are falling from heaven, and the powers are shaken.  And yet, in the journey of Advent, because of the darkness, the sleeping are awakening, equity and wholeness is being required, by any means necessary.  Moments are pushed aside for movements, and the voices of the most vulnerable are rising.  We are recovering our moral selves.  I declare this is a result of the transforming creation of the dark that positions us to do what we often are unwilling to do in the light. 

If this catches your imagination and rings true, check out the resource at this link: https://justiceunbound.org/starryblacknight/ 

This just in! There is a 2023 version of Starry Black Night so here is another link  https://justiceunbound.org/first-sunday-of-advent/