Pastoral Message: “Some Thoughts on Winter Solstice and Christmas” Week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent December 21, 2022
Pastoral Message:
“Some Thoughts on Winter Solstice and Christmas”
Week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 21, 2022
Dear People of God at Faith-La Fe!
Winter officially begins on December 21 with Winter Solstice, the day in the year with the least amount of sunlight and the longest period of darkness in the nighttime hours. I had thought that my move to Phoenix would largely free me from the experience of winter. As each year passes, the older I become, the less my body wants to endure cold temperatures and the rigors of a Northern winter. It is true that this move eliminates my experience of the most extremes of winter – bone chilling cold winds, strings of long, dark, cloudy days, the rigors of snowfall with the needful clearing of sidewalks and scraping ice off the car windows and the inevitable weather-related, interrupted travel plans. I am glad to be free of this stuff! But I am also glad, actually, to discover that Arizona does in fact offer a distinct change of seasons. The days are noticeably cooler with temps even near the freezing point first thing in the morning, a refreshing change of pace from the 100 degrees-plus days of summer.
But perhaps the most striking thing to me about this season here in the desert Southwest is that Arizona does not escape December 21 still being the day in the year with the least sunlight. In fact, because so many of our days are sunny, I have a heightened sense here of the nature of daylight at this time of year. Because of the consistently sunny days in Arizona, I am keenly aware of the position of the sun in the sky, its angles in relation to my home, both inside and out when I am on my walks on the neighboring nature trails. I take to heart the long shadows the angle of the sun casts at various points in the day, and this much more strikingly and noticeably so than during the commonly cloudy winter days in the Northeast.
I love to sit in my living room in the morning, basking in the sunlight that floods this East-facing room while enjoying coffee and praying morning prayer. It’s like sunbathing, and even inside I can actually feel the warmth of the sun. Of course, during the late summer and early fall, the sun envelops this space earlier in the morning than now when the daylight hours are shorter. Currently the sun enters the room later in the morning. And earlier in the season, the sun embraces the whole room, filling every nook and cranny with its light. Now, because of the position of the sun in the sky, only part of the living room is flooded with the sun’s light, and I find myself seeking it out in a corner chair.
Maybe something in my Scandinavian genes makes me particularly sensitive to darkness and to light, those interminably long winter nights in the far North and then also in Scandinavia, the midnight sun in the summertime. But it is true, especially the older I become, that I notice a palpable change in my sense of well-being in relation to light and darkness, feeling noticeably better in the light and feeling that sense of well-being eroded a bit on days of greater darkness (though I also affirm the significance and importance of embracing the darkness and avoiding too much artificial light, for the night’s shadows are life-giving in their own ways).
Because of all of this, as my years progress, I’ve grown in my appreciation for Winter Solstice and for some of the pre-Christian practices and beliefs associated with it, particularly in relation to Norse mythology. In significant ways, frankly speaking, Winter Solstice, which marks the tipping point to a gradual return of days with longer periods of sunlight, is more meaningful to me than the ways our popular culture celebrates Christmas with its relentless focus on indulgent orgies of retail consumption.
That said, there are deep and meaningful connections between Winter Solstice and Christmas, between the turn toward greater daylight and the birth of the one, Jesus Christ, who would become the light of the world. Our early Christian forebears were brilliant in their choice to locate in chronological proximity the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord with pagan celebrations of light around the Winter Solstice. It was a stroke of en-Spirited genius to link the return of the sun with the coming of the Son, and to herald the connections between the sun’s rising and the Son’s rising. My theological perspectives and faith sensibilities are not threatened by this blending of pagan and Christian themes. In fact, my stance of faith is strengthened by these connections, for the Christian message has always needed to be made intelligible at least to some degree via the sensibilities of the cultural contexts in which the gospel message has been proclaimed.
Winter Solstice, for example, deepens my appreciation for the wisdom contained in the prologue to John’s Gospel, which we’ll hear in church on Christmas Day: “What has come into being in [the Word of God made flesh] was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it…. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” (John 1:3b-5, 9)
Thus it is that my appreciation for the Son’s light is heightened by my embodied longing for and appreciation of the sun’s light on Winter Solstice. My sense of being embraced by the light of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is more highly attuned because of the ways that the morning sun in season envelops my whole living space including my own body, mind, and soul when I bask in the fullness of the sun’s glow as I pray morning prayer, the texts of which point to and reveal the light of Christ.
Thus it is that the “O Antiphon,” about which I wrote in last week’s message, appointed for Winter Solstice, December 21, is most apt, and conveys so well my, and our, longing on this day: “O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.”
This sensibility is conveyed even more poignantly and poetically in the English translation of the Swedish hymn, “Rejoice, Rejoice, Believers,” the final stanza of which reads and pleads: “Our hope and expectation, O Jesus, now appear; arise, O Sun so longed for, o’er this benighted sphere. With hearts and hands uplifted, we plead, O Lord, to see the day of earth’s redemption that sets your people free!” (ELW 244)
O, may it be so. Come, Lord Jesus, Dear Son of God, come.
Basking in the light of Christ,
Pastor Jonathan Linman
Pastor’s Office Phone Number: 602-265-5860
Email: pastor@faithalive.com
Announcements
Join Us for Spiritual Enrichment during Advent and Christmas
Wednesday, December 21 – La Posadas at 6:00, with dinner following worship, which features the search in procession for room in the inn for the holy family.
Saturday, December 24 at 7:30 pm (with special prelude music beginning at 7:00 pm) – Christmas Eve Worship in English
Sunday, December 25 at 9:00 am (in English) and 11:00 am (in Spanish) – Worship on Christmas Day
Wednesday, December 28 at 7:00 pm – Observance of “Blue Christmas” also commemorating The Holy Innocents, Martyrs, an occasion to make prayerful room in our hearts and minds for the fact that for many people the holidays are not a time of cheer, but can occasion heightened experiences of sadness and grief.
Friday, January 6 at 7:00 pm – A Casual Social and Prayerful Gathering on the Feast of the Epiphany. We’ll celebrate the visit of the Magi to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph with a brief and an informal service of worship followed by a time to be with each other for conversation while enjoying party-style refreshments. The principle here is to keep it simple! You may volunteer to provide food items for this occasion (sign-ups on the outside bulletin board in the breezeway), or simply bring along with you something to share.
Sunday, January 8 at 9:00 am (in English) and 11:00 am (in Spanish) – Baptism of Our Lord and the Sacrament of Holy Baptism (at 9:00 am).
Year-End Special Gifts Encouraged, if not to say, Implored!
The end of the calendar year is when many people focus on charitable giving. It’s also an occasion to take stock of the financial condition of our congregation. The long and the short of it is that Faith-La Fe Church needs your extra support. Further detailed reporting will be available at our annual meeting early next year, but to date we are running a shortfall of some $31,000 between actual giving and what is needed in contributions to meet our budget. If you have the means and feel drawn by the Spirit to help make up this difference at the end of year with extra financial gifts, thanks be to God and to you! Encouraging things are happening in our congregation in ministry and in mission. Let’s do all that we can to nurture the financial well-being of our church for the sake of the work which God has entrusted to us! Your extra gifts are needed as you are able to offer them!
Congregation Council Meeting Summary, December 13 Meeting
To keep you apprised of what is happening in our congregation, here is a summary of actions taken at our recent Congregation Council meeting.
Our ministry teams have been reactivated since the pandemic except for the Administrative Ministries Team, which will be convened early in the new year. Property concerns include replacing the East Chapel door, the irrigation issues in the garden, replacing the trees at the South entrance, the question of extra parking in front of Faith Place, and perhaps converting the West lawn to desert landscaping with a possible labyrinth. We’ll be in discernment about these matters in coming months. A Faith member generously donated a replacement door for the East Chapel and a cost-effective installation proposal was approved. Irrigation matters are being addressed with member volunteer labor. The outside bathroom which experienced fire damage will likely be converted into a storage room. Conversations with the Faith La Fe Lutheran Church pre-school continue as we seek to clarify and articulate the relationship between church and preschool. Faith La Fe Lutheran Church, as you know, has received grants from our synod and churchwide organization to support pastoral leadership of our Spanish language ministry. A meeting is scheduled for January 10th with Pastor Miguel from the synod to discuss our congregation’s partnership responsibilities concerning these grants. Pastor Jonathan reported that he continues to orient himself to Faith La Fe Lutheran Church, its members, surrounding Christian universities, and the Phoenix community.
Rummage Sale
Do you need more closet or storage space? Too many books? A piece of furniture you don’t need anymore? We have a solution for you! Faith will hold a Rummage Sale on January 28 with proceeds going to Faith. You can help make this a fun day of treasure and bargain hunting while at the same time raising funds for Faith ministries. Your donations will be gratefully accepted starting in January. Watch this space for more details over the next weeks.
Taking a Christmas Break
To honor a slower, less complicated pace during the Christmas Holy Days, there will be no pastoral message next week, nor will Wednesday Bible Studies be held during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. The morning and evening Bible Studies will resume on Wednesday, January 4 at 10:30 am and 6:00 pm.