The Easter Vigil

There comes a time when someone dies who we love dearly.  It is devastating.  Family and friends surround us, bring food and support that is at least vaguely comforting.  The funeral and burial happen in a matter of such a short time.  Then we are left alone.  There are promises, some of them kept, of staying in touch.  But within a few days we are on our own.  People go about the business of living and so must we.  The silence and emptiness is unbelievable.  It is a time of being between two worlds.  Nothing seems real anymore and we reside in a state of unknowing.  Our relationship with life is being redefined.  This experience is played out in The Great Easter Vigil.

Only a part of Christianity observes The Easter Vigil.  I'm not sure why it isn't more universal because the ritual is quite powerful.  The church is stripped of all vestments and ornamentation on Thursday night and remains barren through Good Friday and all day Saturday.  The water is drained from the fonts.  Lights are extinguished.  It is dark, silent and empty.  This is that period of in-between that we suffer after the funeral when family and friends depart.  Visiting the church during this time prior to the Easter Vigil is somehow comforting.  It gives us a sense of the universal experience of grief.  Then the most wonderful thing happens at dusk.  People gather outside of the church where a fire is started.  The priest lights the Easter candle from the fire and then everyone lights their own candle from it.  The light is returned to the inside of the church.  It is the victory of light over the darkness, good over evil, love over hatred and joy over sorrow.  This is the promise of new beginnings.

Winter Solstice

The winter solstice is upon us.  It is the shortest day and the longest night.  The days light has become shorter and shorter since Midsummer and now seems to rise and set in the same place for several days.  For more than seven thousand years human beings have been marking this occasion as the birth of the sun and light.  Life begins anew at Christmas and Hanukkah.  The sun begins it's journey South and creation celebrates.

This is a time to remember the ever turning wheel of life.  Our journey is mixed with darkness and light, struggle and triumph, sadness and joy.  It will never be overcome with the dark but could not be appreciated without it.  We need to honor the presence of grace during both.  One of the ways to acknowledge this truth is to light a candle at the winter solstice.  Take a few minutes to reflect upon your life and its rich flavor of sweet and bitter spice.  Nothing stays forever.  We can be sure that the sun will make its journey back.  The daylight will lengthen.  Spring and Summer will return. 

"May peace and plenty be the first to lift the latch on your door and happiness be guided to your home by the candle of Christmas!" ~ An Irish Blessing