I am certain that many of you maybe familiar with this saying:
If Candlemas day be fair and bright, Winter will have another flight.
If Candlemas day be shower and rain, Winter is gone and will not come again.
Once again, we have journeyed from the scene at the manger where the greatest of kings was born in the poorest of places. We have seen the “great light;” the “desire of nations.” We have witnessed Magi making the long trek to pay him homage and presenting their gifts to recognize his role of prophet, priest and king. Forty days after his birth we celebrate the great and wonderful images of The Presentation (better known as Candlemas), as recorded in St. Luke’s Gospel of the infant Jesus making the first of many trips to the Holy City. We see the aged Anna and Simeon being given the promises of God that salvation would be seen in their lifetime. It is no mistake living in the northern hemisphere that such days as Christmas, Epiphany and now Candlemas—the light of the sun is getting brighter—so too is the light of the Son. As the light of the sun gets brighter for us as we journey through these days of winter, we approach the light of spring. As we approach spring we approach the “Spring for Christians”—Easter—knowing that in Easter we are given the promises that were made in the fact that God is with us. As the light brightens, we can say that not only God is with us, we can acclaim God is for us.
We need such a reminder that not only God is with us but also that God is for us. I am certain that as these words are going to be in print, that there are those who during this time, for whatever reason, may feel that God is not with us and the God is not for us. Whether is be the grief surrounding the loss of a loved one or the grief surrounding the pandemic as we approach the 2 year mark of this event. For whatever reason, remember that the darkest moment is the moment before the light appears. We all face such a thing as the “dark night of the soul.” In facing such darkness, know and be assured that the light is coming, the sunlight is coming but; so too is the SONlight as well.
I hope that a shower and rain on Candlemas Day will mean that the darkness of winter is gone and will not come again, and that we can do what Jesus tells us to do: “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, NRSV) After all, it is getting brighter.
