Wednesday Wonder – December 4, 2024
Well, it was bound to happen. Winter has arrived, even if the calendar says otherwise. Not supposed to arrive until December 21st. I think those folks up in the Muskoka area that spent time trapped on the highway would say it is here.
We always talk about having a white Christmas so I guess we are going to get what we want this year. Funny how that is what we want. Snow in Bethlehem this time of year was not a thing. Yes, nights could get cold, but there was not snow like we have snow.
I grew up in the Ottawa Valley. We had snow! Found a picture the other day of me as a child walking through a path with snow banks higher than me on either side. Oh, the good old days! The snow plow teams were well oiled machines and there were few snow days. And it is a dry cold up there. No lake effect or moisture to worry about. When I moved here I had to learn to dress differently in winter.
There is something about Christmas lights on houses that just sparks a different feeling with snow. Our neighbours have had their lights up for a bit now, can’t wait to get home tonight to see them all surrounded by snow. Somehow it becomes a cozy feeling, despite the snow.
Shared Christmas with a colleague from Australia years ago. He was at a neighbouring church on an exchange. That was when we lived north of London, Ontario and we got loads of snow up there. His children had never seen so much snow. And they were used to cooking Christmas dinner on the bbq. We ate Christmas dinner with the wind and snow blowing around the windows and doors that year. It was an experience his children have never forgotten. Personally, wish I had been the one on exchange and living down under so it was a warm Christmas. But it is all about perspective.
Snow really isn’t connected to the first Christmas. It happened in a whole different part of the world, where snow isn’t necessarily something they saw regularly. And, we don’t actually know when Jesus’ birthday was. The gospel stories don’t give us a day and month.
We see the birth of Jesus as the coming of Light into the world. Since December 21st is the day with the least amount of daylight it makes sense to celebrate that Light coming in the midst of the darkness. We spend all that time putting up lights on our homes for that very reason. More light in the darkness.
Celebrating the birth of The Light at the darkest time of year also reminds us of the hope we find in God. Knowing God is with us in the dark times makes them bearable; helps us make it through them. The coming of Light into the darkness is a poignant reminder of how much darkness we seem to encounter in our world. And yet, there is hope for brighter times. Light shines through the darkness. And that Light cannot be put out. It does not disappear when we turn off the lights on our houses at the end of the season. It does not disappear despite the darkness that seems to always be prevalent in the news. It does not disappear, ever. That Light stays with us. It lifts us up. It helps us keep going. It wraps us in a warm hug that is like being wrapped in God’s arms.
Those who have been attending the Bible study and reading the letter of Paul to the Romans were reminded this week about the ever present Light of God.
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 NRSV)
As we enter into the Advent season, let us remember to be part of the Light that is coming into the darkness. Shine your light wherever you are. It may be just the bit of light someone needs to keep going.
Peace,
Rev. Mary-Jane