Faith

December is a time of light and redemption for us

Take time to linger and wait for the Lord

RABBI IRWIN WIENER, D.D.

Columnist

We are taught that in the beginning there was light. December helps us reenact that very moment in time when creation occurred, and light was brought into our lives. This very act gave us an awareness that not only illuminated the path of life’s journey, but also enabled us to understand the di erence between good and evil.

We know only too well that evil is all around us. We see it every day and we feel helpless, at times by its ugliness. Evil is like a snake crawling on its belly, lurking around every corner. It crawls because it cannot walk upright. Evil also hides behind a cloak of invisibility because vision is its enemy.

Good, on the other hand, requires light so that everyone can marvel at its splendor and understand how indispensable it is for complete fulfi llment. It is generally di cult to be good because our inclination is to be bad – to try to get away with something that is determined to be forbidden. Therefore, the e ort is greater.

December is here to help us understand this eternal struggle. Two great festivals requiring light are celebrated – Hanukkah and Christmas. Each in its own way emphasize the need for the elimination of evil and the enhancement our lives receive when we come out of the darkness and head toward the light.

These two holidays begin the process of globalization of the understanding of God. The true meaning of sacrifi ce can be found in the light from the Menorah and the light in the sky. We can learn the true meaning of the relationship between God and the created.

These two holidays come at a time when darkness surrounds us. Whether it is the darkness of mind and body or the darkness of destructive experiences. There is despair and hopelessness because the days are short, the nights are long, and the cold harshness of winter is upon us.

We are reminded of our mortality. Some sleep and some die. For this is the darkest time of the year, the darkest time of our lives.

Then the light appears. The warm glow of the season brings an awareness to our hearts that radiates strongly and gives us solace. We gaze at the light, almost hypnotized, and we are assured of a brighter tomorrow. Primarily the holidays are celebrated in the home because there we fi nd the comfort and serenity that separates the Holy from the profane.

Our homes are sanctifi ed through the blessings of family and friends. And it is the home that the lessons of life are fi rst learned.

We pray, not only for ourselves, but all peoples everywhere that the light of these days and nights will glow forever, that the light will give us hope and meaning in our journey. We pray that the light will illuminate the paths of darkness awakening our souls to our societal duties, reminding us that there is goodness, and we have an obligation, a moral responsibility, to comfort the oppressed, respond to those in trouble and relieve as much pain and su ering as we are able; that tomorrow can be better, and that life is cherished above all else.

Then, perhaps we will be worthy of the blessings we seek from God.

Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D. is the spiritual leader of the Sun Lakes Congregation.

BY LYNNE HARTKE

Guest Writer

He had me at blue butterfl ies. “The blue butterfl ies can be found on the sunfl owers after the morning winds die down,” the white-haired volunteer said when I fi rst arrived at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior.

Since I hadn’t been to the arboretum for many years, I decided to see as much as possible of the 300-plus-acres before heading to the sunfl owers. I felt compelled to get my money’s worth.

Wallace Desert Garden. Check. The High Trail. Check. Suspension bridge. Check. Ayer Lake. Check. Picketpost Mountain. Check. Multiple side trails of deserts around the world. Check.

I snapped photographs, ate my apple on-the-go, and fi nished the 1.5-mile main loop. By then, the wind has died down, so I headed to the Hummingbird and Butterfl y Garden to see the blue butterfl ies.

Yellow, orange, and brown-patterned fl yers danced around me in the warm morning air currents. Painted ladies, buckeyes, and southern dogface butterfl ies fl itted among the tall sunfl owers, unrolling their proboscises into the centers for sips of nectar.

Where were the blue? The pipevine swallowtails? Had I missed them?

I waited. Paused. Took a break from conquering the day.

Peering closer, I noticed movement in the shadows. The pipevines! The fl yers were hiding in plain sight, their blue iridescence camoufl aged by the darkness. Without the light, the swallowtails appeared a boring gray or black, with only a few cream spots along the edges of the opened wings. But when the light caught their tiny scales, the vivid blue unveiled in a kaleidoscope of turquoise, sapphire, and navy.

In my hectic pace, beauty almost missed me, or more accurately, I almost missed the beauty found on butterfl y wings.

In the book, A Spacious Life, author Ashley Hales describes how the life we ultimately want is not found in unfettered options or by our hustle and hurry. Hales writes, “In the story of grace, the lack of hurry makes room for presence.”

The lack of hurry makes room for presence. I think that would be a good goal this Christmas season, don’t you, to take time to discover His presence in unexpected places? Like the shepherds?

“Let’s go and see,” the shepherds said to one another after their heavenly visitation. They discovered God’s Son sleeping in a feed box for animals, hidden in plain sight.

In our spiritual practices, presence can be found in prayer, scripture reading, and being together in the yearly celebrations of our faith communities. It is also a skill we can practice as we pause from the hurry of the season to recognize God’s beauty and goodness in our everyday lives, sometimes hiding in shadows.

Let’s pause and remember again the story of God coming to earth as a baby, not wrapped in blue iridescence, but camoufl aged in swaddling clothes. What an incredible story of grace! Let’s take time to linger in full sunshine and sing:

Joy to the world the Lord has come… Let every heart prepare Him room.

Lynne Hartke is the author of “Under a Desert Sky” and the wife of pastor and Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke. She blogs at lynnehartke.com.

Chandler United Methodist Church

Making and Deploying Disciples for over 100 Years. Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors. SUNDAY WORSHIP at 8:30 am & 10:00 am All Are Welcome!

480-963-3360 | www.chandlermethodist.org | 450 E. Chandler Heights Rd.

Make a Difference in Someone’s Christmas this Year!

My Sisters’ Place, a domestic violence shelter in Chandler, is seeking Christmas donations for the families and their children living in shelter. November 22 - December 21, 2021

Unwrapped Items Only | Wish list: New Clothes, New Toys*

Donations are being accepted at:

Engenuity Systems

2165 W. Pecos, Ste. 1 Chandler, AZ 85224

M-F 8am -5pm

OR

You can donate by going to our amazon charity list:

My Sisters’ Place 480-821-1024