Larry Jordan

Dec 21, 2022 by Larry Jordan, in The Way

Today is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the beginning of winter and the longest night of the year.

This year, I am participating in an Advent mini-retreat based on the O Antiphons, and today's reading is appropos of the season:
 

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.


Barbara Brown Taylor, one of my favorite authors, recently reflected on this darkness:

I love the dark, but at the moment there is so much of it—in the news, in the calls from sick friends, in the long nights and rainy days—that there’s some soul-shrinkage going on. No wonder people put such a rush on Christmas this year! But artificial lights won’t do it—not the bright one by my bed or the colored ones on my neighbors’ roofs. It’s the turning of the earth back toward the sun I’m waiting for, the one Christmas present I can’t live without. When someone asks what gives me hope, that’s it: the turning of the seasons, the promise of change, the reliable cycles of light and dark that some early church genius named Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter to remind me that the wheel of life keeps turning and there is something holy in every turn.
 

This season, the darkness is particularly profound for me. Several friends are struggling with serious illnesses. Our family has been sick since September, passing around flu and intestinal illnesses and strep throat, leading us to isolate from family and friends and taking us to the emergency room.

Still, there is some light in the darkness. On Christmas Eve, we will be reading "The Night Before Christmas" to the children at an intimate church service. Recently, I connected with some old friends and some new friends, because of my book:

An old friend began a conversation about his spiritual journey, and we are having some interesting discussions.
A new friend, an insightful blogger in the UK who found me on the internet, linked to my website on his blog. https://outsidethegoldfishbowl.wordpress.com/
A new friend, a local author, spent a few hours with me and shared his soon-to-be released book. https://www.kevincurnutt.net/

Good things are happening on the publishing front, too.

Soon, I will be ending my eight-year term as treasurer of my HOA board and beginning my 12th year as a volunteer with AARP Tax Aide.

The wheel of life keeps turning and there is something holy at every turn. Best wishes for the holiday season.

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