Behold the Night

Maybe you were raised like I was, with the churchy metaphor of lightness, brightness and whiteness equated with good, and darkness and blackness with bad. It's kind of baked into the Judeo-Christian tradition and there's lots in Advent/Christmas/Epiphany that goes that direction.

Winter Solstice invites us to notice the dark goodness and the good darkness. The rich fudge, the wondrous night sky, the dilated fireside softness. Pastor Lisa recently brought the image of the fun, cozy, all-yours blanket fort of childhood.

On this longest night of the year, our faces relax, our eyes adjust and we can behold the Great Mystery within and surrounding our lives. Maybe it’s a moment to look your own life and exclaim, “Behold!”

Here is a meditation song Olive Branch will be using in a couple of weeks:

Behold the night.
There are gifts here in the dark.
Soon the sun returns.

What is stirring in you as the earth season turns?

Pay attention to that.

Listen to your life, as Parker Palmer says. Go out tonight late and look at the stars. Maybe listen to Dark Side of the Moon with headphones. Nibble fudge. Sit still and let your thoughts come in and out.

You’re joining our ancient ancestors who dropped everything on Winter Solstice to notice the contrasts in a well-lived, full-range life.

Behold the Night.