Season of Light

The camels and wise men have come, paying homage to the babe.  These wise men were wise in part because they listened to the inner stirrings of their lives and paid attention to all of life in their surroundings.  They read the signs in the world around them, knowing that the star that they had spotted would take them to the messiah.  They followed this bright sign and did indeed find the Christ.  There was something about this child that registered a yes within these wise people.  They then listened to the inner stirrings in their dreams and knew that they must go home another way. Their listening mattered.

We might say that these wise people were present to life in all of its many facets.  Their minds perhaps were not going over to do lists or how this holy family might be perceiving them.  I like to think that they had a practice such as centering prayer and sharing the messages of their dreams with each other.  Such practices would have helped them to let go of distractions so that the divine spark within could connect to the divine that is within all.  Christ was born anew in these wise people.  They took what they received from that light home in a new way.

A few weeks before Christmas, I was feeling terribly distracted and completely disengaged as to how God was stirring within me.  I left my office to wander downstairs for a refill on my coffee. The lights were already out but some natural light had found its way to the coffee nook.  I was completely taken off guard when the notes of the First Noel being practiced on the organ made their way to me.  Tears came to my eyes as I felt stirrings within.  I argued back and forth with myself about going right back upstairs to work or to sit for a moment to ponder what was happening.  I chose to find a seat in the Tilford Room and just sat.  I was brought back to what all of this work was about.  I took a few deep breaths knowing that God was being born anew in me.  This is what I must stay connected to as I go about the details of my life.  The light of this new birth is what I celebrate during Epiphany - the season of light.  The birth does not end at Christmas.  The light is sent out into the world.  We must be the bearers of this light in the world.  How will you celebrate and spread the new light that was born within you during Christmas?  If you are not even aware of any birth within, take some time to yourself and look back over the seasons of Advent and Christmas.  Where was God doing something new in you?  I promise you that it was happening.