As we journey more deeply into longer nights, experiencing the absence of light as winter descends; we can find paradoxical contrast that at this darkest time we are preparing ourselves for the oncoming light. At the solstice we begin to turn away from the long night and enter into more light filled days. I, for one, begin to feel a lifting of spirit. I begin to shake off a mild depression that has been settling itself in and around me, like the darkness outside.
It is not that I dislike this feeling. In fact I welcome it, like a familiar friend that visits at the same time each year. I am challenged to look more deeply into myself as the darkness becomes a blanket that wraps itself around me and keeps me inside. It is as if I have traveled, once again, into a new womb. In this time of transition I catch new glimpses of self illuminated by the promise of the oncoming light.
In the Christian Church this time is marked by Advent as a moment of hope and rebirth, with the coming light of the world represented by the Christ child. I feel a sense of wonder when I think of the beautiful Nativity scene: Lit by the peaceful glow of sacred light, the animals stand quietly beside the manger, and the look of awe on the faces of the shepherds, who have traveled through the dark night to the stable, guided by the bright star. Joseph stands there protectively watching the sweet love of mother and child.
When I was visiting the sacred island of Iona in Scotland a few years ago, I spent some time pondering the meaning of the Nativity. As I sat in a small pasture by the Abbey surrounded by ewes and their tiny lambs, I thought about how perfect it was that in the story the baby Jesus was born in a stable and that the animals were there with him. I think animals belong beside the manger as a reminder that they are a part of the soul of the world. I thought about how the stable served as a peaceful sanctuary for this infant born with an enlightened consciousness while the politics of the time raged outside. I imagined the stable as a cave or womb of protection. A shaman might see it as another dimension, a place on the other side of the veil. Surely the Nativity scene represents the love and positive energy of the Divine and within its image the hope of an evolution of consciousness for all life on earth.
I believe that we can also feel the protection of this womblike stable. It is Christ’s gift to us as we journey from the darkest nights into the renewal of light. The bright and holy light in the manger guides us and calls us to come home to ourselves, and we do, because even in the dark we know there is the hope of new life.
