Friday of the First Week of Advent
Around the start of the pandemic I began taking sunset walks pretty regularly and discovered something about myself. If I watch the sky slowly darkening at sunset or just after sunset beginning with dusk, then I don’t mind the shortening of the days as much as I used to. If I witness its beauty, especially observing the change that comes with day closing into night, then I’m much more at peace the rest of the night. Occasionally hearing an owl or glimpsing deer or witnessing a great heron fly home for the night, it’s become something I look forward to. And at this time of year, for me, it’s become connected with the waiting and watching of Advent.
Today’s readings speak of both light and its absence: coming “out of the gloom and darkness” in the First reading from Isaiah, and Jesus opening the eyes of the blind in the gospel passage from Matthew; we also hear in today’s Psalm (27) of waiting for the Lord with courage, as we are near the end of this first week of Advent – “Advent,” which I recently read comes from the Latin word “adveniens”, meaning “coming” or “arrival”.
As we prepare for the coming of our Savior, I am reminded of the need to embrace this season of Advent waiting. Perhaps you, too, have found that watching the darkening of the sky with just the light of the stars and moon on a clear night, or the flame of an Advent candle at table, or even the gradual sunrise in the morning, creates a quiet space of openness, even if for a moment.
The next time we witness the opening or the closing of the day, let us pray for one another’s deepening desire for the Light of Christ in our hearts, in our lives, and in our world. May this Advent season of darkness better prepare us to celebrate again with joy the birth of the One True Light. Amen.
~Eileen Miller