Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Many years ago, as a campus minister, I accompanied students on a spring break experience to the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Native American Reservations in South Dakota. We had heard how beautiful the sunsets were over the lake, and we committed ourselves to going one night. We quickly finished the dishes, loaded into our van, and rushed to see the sunset. We stood in silent awe together. The sun slowly descended. The sky changed colors. Minutes after the sun had descended beyond the horizon, someone broke the silence, “We all agree the sun has set, yes?” In fact, there was disagreement; the sky was still gorgeous, but the sun itself was no longer in view. When is sunset over? It is not as clear as you might think!
The same is true for the sunrise. I love the sunrise. I love watching the sky shift and change over the course of time. When does it begin? When is it over? And, just like the old saying, “It’s five o’clock somewhere,” so too, it’s always sunrise somewhere!
On this Christmas Eve day, we finish the O Antiphons with “Come, O Radiant Dawn!” In the gospel today, we hear Zechariah proclaim in awe, “Blessed be God, who has come to set us free!” God’s promises have been fulfilled in the baby in front of him. In some ways, looking at the world around him, observers might say that nothing seems to have changed. But at the same time, the truth is everything has changed! Zechariah is witnessing Radiant Dawn, Christ, who has come and is still coming!
Like the dawning of a new day, on this Christmas Eve, we know that Christ our Radiant Dawn, has already come. And we know that Christ is about to come, in fact is coming now, anew.
Are we awake to witness this beauty in awe? Do we rush toward Christ’s presence among us? Do we invite our friends, family, and everyone we encounter to look, to witness to Christ and the kingdom that is now coming among us?
God is so good! Blessed be God!
Come, O Radiant Dawn!
—Kelly Adamson