The Coming of the Light
By Caledvolc
December 2010

In this season when so many are focussed on what they will have under the tree on Christmas morning, it behooves us as mystics to step back and consider the real "reason for the season". I have seen many bumper stickers and window decals that proclaim that Jesus is the reason for the season and, certainly, the birth of a Christed One is a cause for celebration. We must dig even deeper than that, though, if we are to discover the true meaning of this wondrous holiday.

Again, we will go back to the Ancients and consider for a moment why it is that they held this time of year in great respect and awe long before the coming of the Christ. The winter solstice (December 21-22) falls at this time of the year and was a cause for fear and celebration in ancient times. The Solstice is the longest night of the year and the shortest day (in the Northern Hemisphere, of course); it is the time when it seems that the forces of darkness have overcome the forces of light, a time when it seems that the earth is like to sink into hibernation and never awake. But the Ancients knew that from this day forward, the sun would gain in strength and each day would become a little longer until the sun regained the height of its glory at the Summer Solstice. The celebrations around the Winter Solstice were, then, concerned with calling back the sun, calling for light and warmth to return to the earth and bless it with new fertility so that the people could live.

Christians recognized this powerful imagery in their choice of December 25 for Christmas day. It is no coincidence that the 25th was celebrated as the birthday of Sol Invictus, the invincible Sun, by the pagan Romans. Can it not be said, that when Jesus was born, a Light of Divine brilliance and warmth was born into the world? This event was of crucial importance because it set into action the events that would make the resurrection power of the Christ available to all who sought to turn their faces to the Holy One.

But we must go deeper still to find a true and abiding meaning in the holiday. We must go into our very hearts where flickers the spark of the Divine that is within each of us. As Mary did, we must be willing to say to God, "I am thy handmaiden . . . let it be with me as you have said." We must be willing to give birth to that Child of Light within our own hearts and to nurture that Child and help it to grow into the Being that we truly want to become, inseparable from the Source of All, radiating Light to all around us so that they too might be fertile and give birth to That which longs for Union with them.

This is not an easy process, as we have seen already, but it is the process that will bring fulfillment to the longing that burns deep within our hearts. So, as you contemplate the reason for this season, remember to make room in your hearts for a "new addition".

Merry Christmas.