The Solstice and the Saviour

Newgrange

Longing for light, we wait in darkness

Longing for truth, we turn to You.
Make us Your own, Your holy people
Light for the world to see.

Christ, be our light!
Shine in our hearts.
Shine through the darkness.
Christ, be our light!
Shine in Your church gathered today

Bernadette Farrell

As the sun rose this morning in Ireland a group of lucky lottery winners were ushered into the ancient tomb called Newgrange which was built so that the dawn sunlight of the Winter Solstice shone down a central corridor. Once this select group finishes their experience hundreds more will be taken in groups of twenty for their own experience in this 5,000 year old passage tomb.

Tomorrow there will be a gathering at Stonehenge in Britain which is also solstice related. Amongst the crowd will be self-proclaimed Druids in the tradition of those who built this remarkable temple.

It seems that humans have always acknowledged a deeper, spiritual meaning to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun and what we term as seasons, with equinoxes and solstices. Despite the fact that the vast majority of us are now urbanized there remains a significant interest in the 



Ancient Stonehenge

It shouldn't be surprising that early Christians drafted in behind the Winter Solstice to celebrate the birth of Jesus, their Saviour. We don't have a clue when Jesus was born, other than that lambing season is usually in the Spring, not the heart of Winter. And yet, we Northern Hemisphere types make the most of the weak, short daylight hours to reflect on the movement from the darkness of Advent to the light of Christmas morning, complete with the growing number of candles on the wreath. 

I'm one of those people who consider today an early Christmas gift. I'm with a friend who texted this morning "it just gets better from here on." 

The hymn above was suggested one year as an Advent refrain by Terry Head, the exceptional musician who served Bridge St. UC before moving on to London, where he died suddenly a few weeks ago. 

The Light of Christ is gleaming, and the daylight hours will lengthen, thanks be to God!



Heidi Malott