Celtic Advent - Day XXXVI - December 21

 

Celtic Advent – Day XXXVI – December 21

 

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

How I wonder what you are.

Up above the world so high

Like a diamond in the sky

Twinkle, twinkle, little star

How I wonder what you are.

 

Today a day of a very interesting juxtaposition of events: The Winter Solstice, The Great Conjunction, and the Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle.

 

The Winter Solstice officially began at 5:02 AM ET this morning, which marks the official start of the Winter Season.

 

The winter solstice is an astronomical event, based on the Earth’s tilt away from the sun. It occurs when the tilt of the North Pole is positioned the farthest from the sun, causing less light to reach the northern hemisphere.

 

This means that today is the longest night or the shortest day, depending on your perspective. From this day forward into the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, each day will grow longer and the night will grow shorter.

 

The word ‘solstice’ is derived from the Latin word solstitium. It is a combination of sol, which means sun, and stitium, which means to stop, and refers to the sun appearing to briefly stop moving at the moment winter arrives, and also at the moment summer arrives — which is the Summer Solstice.

 

This is the day when the sun stops. Just take that in for a moment. The sun, in its orbit around the cosmos, seems to hit a brief pause.

 

Ancient cultures may not have had the technology to measure or track the movement of the sun, but they knew something significant was happening in the cosmos. Many cultures believe that the archetypal Mother gave birth to the sun on this day: It's when the Egyptian deity Isis gave birth to Horus, the sun god, and the Greek Leto gave birth to shining Apollo.

In the matriarchal religions, the day marks the rebirth of the goddesses Persephone, Besana, Amaterasu, and Sun Woman.

 

In the Irish countryside, ancient people built a huge Stone Age tomb mound called Newgrange in homage to the astronomical event. It predates Stonehenge by 1,000 years.

 

Around 800 B.C.E, the Paracas people in Peru mapped the desert with geoglyphs connecting ceremonial mounds to the spot the winter solstice sun set on the horizon. In other parts of the world from Ancient Egypt to Machu Picchu, sprawling constructs were built in alignment with the winter solstice.

 

The Yalda festival is still observed in Iran with modern adaptations like staying up late and savoring ripe watermelon and pomegranate. And the ancient Druid pastime of cutting mistletoe in celebration of winter solstice has not only survived, but is a widely practiced holiday ritual.

 

The Solstice doesn’t just hold power over the imaginations and minds of ancient people or those in foreign lands. In 2012, people somehow became convinced that this astronomical even would surely herald the end of the world. They based this prediction on a reading of the Mayans’ Mesoamerica Long Count Calendar, which suggested creation would end at the start of a "14th b'ak'tun" — which, you guessed it, happened to fall on the winter solstice that year.

 

This year, the solstice falls on the same day as “The Great Conjunction” when two planets, Jupiter and Saturn, will come so close that they will appear as one in the sky. Astronomers report that these two planets haven’t been this close in over 400 years, and it has not been visible (occurred at night) in over 800 years.

 

Experts believe that this alignment won’t happen again for another 60 years, so don’t miss tonight’s opportunity. We should be able to have an unobstructed view toward the southwest horizon as soon as it becomes dark.

 

Because it will occur this year on the winter solstice, just before the Christmas holiday, the timing has led to a speculation whether this could be the same astronomical event that the Bible reports led the wise men to Joseph, Mary and the newly born Jesus – the Star of Bethlehem. Indeed, the Great Conjunction has also been called The Christmas Star or The Bethlehem Star.

The story of the star has long fascinated readers, both ancient and modern. Within the New Testament, it is found only in the Gospel of Matthew, a first-century account of Jesus’ life that begins with the story of his birth.

 

In this account, wise men arrive in Jerusalem and say to Herod, the king of Judea: “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising and have come to pay him homage.” The star leads them to Bethlehem and stops over the place where the infant Jesus and his family were staying.

 

There are lots of scientists and theologians who contend that we ought not confuse the two. The leading argument against this being The Bethlehem Star is that Matthew is very clear that this was not a normal event. Indeed, the star that led the wise men was extraordinary. 

 

Matthew says that the wise men come to Jerusalem “from the East.” The star then leads them to Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem. The star therefore makes a sharp left turn. And astronomers will agree that stars do not make sharp turns.

 

Moreover, when the wise men arrive in Bethlehem, the star is low enough in the sky to lead them to a specific house. As physicist Aaron Adair puts it: “the Star is said to stop in place and hover over a particular lodging, acting as an ancient GPS unit.” The “description of the movements of the Star,” he noted, was “outside what is physically possible for any observable astronomical object.”

Those facts have never gotten in the way of a good story, and over the centuries, Matthew story has inspired many delightful Christmas Pageants and romantic poetry and prose.

 

Into this great confluence of events the church honors the life and witness of St. Thomas, one of my favorite apostles, who, I’m sure, would have held Matthew to greater account. Thomas was both brave and bold and unafraid to face the unvarnished truth.

 

You might remember that after Jesus was crucified, the apostles went into hiding. Well, all but Thomas. Indeed, when the resurrected Jesus first appeared to the disciples who were hiding in that Upper Room, Thomas was not with them.

This should not come as a surprise. When word comes to Jesus and the disciples that his friend Lazarus has died, Jesus says “Let us go to him.” And Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” This is not a statement of cynicism, but rather, one of courageous loyalty. (See John 11:5-16)

No, I suspect that Thomas was not hiding in that room or anywhere else. I suspect Thomas was already out in the world – checking things out, waiting to see when the time was right to bring his fellow disciples back out into the world to begin spreading the Good News of God in Christ Jesus.

Thomas gets it. He knows that there are worst things than death. What could be worse than death, you ask? Well, for me it would be never having fully lived at all. Like living your whole life ruled by anxiety and fear, instead of having it filled with hope and possibility.

Yes, of course there’s danger in that. Possibility is a very dangerous thing. When you believe in possibility, and you put your belief into action, well, you might make a mistake. In fact, you could make a whole lot of mistakes. You might open your mouth and unintentionally hurt yourself – or, someone else. Or, do something that has unintended and unexpected outcomes.

Your plan might not all go exactly as planned. But, where would you be if you hadn’t tried? If you hadn’t been bold enough to risk coming out of what is safe and secure and trying to live what it is you say you believe?

Yes, of course, there is danger out there in the world. Thomas is not ruled by fear but by hope. He knows that the life of a disciple is hopeful and fully engaged with the world. He’s the one who insists on putting his fingers into the wounds of Jesus because he knows that by his wounds we will know Jesus.

 

Not by perfection. Not by logic. Not by reasoning. But, by vulnerability and sacrificial love, a willingness to suffer for what is right and for what will bring transformation and new life. Just the way Jesus came into the world.

 

All over the world, people in different countries and different cultures who practice different religions will express their understanding of the meaning of the Solstice and the Great Conjunction and the feast day of St. Thomas in a wide variety of ways.

 

Some will use this time to cleanse the energy of their space using wooded bowls of salt. Others will be inspired to decorate a Solstice Wish Tree or express gratitude in notes written to people in their lives.

 

One of my favorite rituals is to put some gold glitter into a bowl of water and light a candle to represent the Sun and then dip you hands into the water and sprinkle glitter “sunshine” to anoint your hands and face and those of others. 

 

Perhaps the most meaningful is one is the one that is most simple. Look up.

 

Start tonight and look toward the southwest horizon for the “Christmas Star”. The Jupiter-Saturn meet-up reminds us that each one of us is and opening for the light, a gateway through which the absolute can manifest.

 

Make it a daily habit to look up. Look up at the sky and take a moment to thank God for the “firmament of the heavens”.

 

Look up and beyond whatever it is that is concerning you or causing you worry or anxiety. Know that the world is spinning just as it needs to and without your help.

 

Look up and know that there is a force that is beyond our wildest imagination which holds together the planets and stars, the oceans and mountains, as well as your life.

 

Look up and open your mind and your heart to wonder and magic and mystery and know that doubt often opens the pathway to questions which lead to discovery which can deepen faith.

 

I will leave you with this wonderful Shaker “gift song”:

’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
’Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
’Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come ’round right.