After the Light

From The Pastor’s Desk—

This month marks the beginning of Lent, the 40 days of preparation and prayer leading up to Easter. In the early church, there was no distinction between Lent, and that other season of the preparation in the Christian year: Advent. In fact, in the 5th and 6th century, Advent was referred to as “St. Martin’s Lent”, and began on the feast day of St. Martin, November 11th. Both were seasons of prayer, with an emphasis on fasting and heightened spiritual devotion. 

Over time, these traditions diverged, and became recognizable as the forms we practice today. Advent retained its preparatory aspect, though it jettisoned fasting in favor of celebration. Lent, though, retained the austerity of the early conjoined tradition. Some of that can be attributed to the times of year they were observed. Christmas falls near the winter solstice, the darkest time of the year, so the observance of Advent came to encompass the traditions of feasting and celebration that marked the end of the harvest season. It also focused on the hope of the return of the light.

Lent, however, begins after the light has faded. On Ash Wednesday, this takes quite a literal form, as the ashes used to mark the heads or hands of the faithful on that day are made by burning last year’s palms from Palm Sunday. After the light and heat of the fire, ash is all that remains. As the world waits during the waning days of Winter for the return of Spring and new life, Christians prepare themselves for all that these 40 days, and especially Holy Week, have in store.

Perhaps the lesson for this Lent is to look for what happens “after the light”. Christ is evocatively described in the Gospel of John as the light which is the life of the world. This light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. We see this dramatically on Easter, when the darkness of the tomb is cast out by the light of the Resurrection.

But outside of this binary, we can easily see that darkness is not inherently bad. The night is a time for rest, a time to recover, a chance to lay down the busyness of the day. The ash that remains after the fire has burned out is a fine fertilizer for the crops that will grow come the spring. This Lent, may we all be attentive to what happens “after the light.” I’ll leave you with a prayer from the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer. May it serve you well in these coming 40 days. 

—Pastor Jon

Lord, it is night.
The night is for stillness. Let us be still in the presence of God.
It is night after a long day. What has been done has been done; what has not been done has not been done; let it be.
The night is dark. Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you.
The night is quiet. Let the quietness of your peace enfold us, all dear to us, and all who have no peace.
The night heralds the dawn. Let us look expectantly to a new day, new joys, new possibilities.
In your name we pray.  Amen.