Have you noticed that the light is changing? That its creamy gold covers the trees and roadways like warm caramel? As I travel both to and from work, winding alongside the mountains, I see how the brightness of summer’s sun has mellowed and has become deeper and richer.
I bask in it, closing my eyes and stretching toward it, my own version of a sun-salutation.
But it doesn’t last long, this golden hour. Before I can drink my fill, it seems to sink out of sight – leaving me a little chilly and standing in the shadows. All too quickly, I forget that the sun was just shining upon me and that it will return again tomorrow. All too quickly, I turn to the darkness and let it settle upon me.
Friends, our lives cannot always be lived in the golden hour. Difficult and dark times assail us. Even so we must hold the light in our hearts all the while the darkness deepens, remembering that the sun will rise again.
So to our faith cannot only be vibrant when the light is shining. Evil and the powers of darkness will sometimes appear to be strong, even invincible. Even so,we must hold the Light for ourselves and for others, proclaiming for ourselves and others that the Son will rise again.
I know that today this might be hard to believe, so I share this, a lovely and moving portion of “The Servant Song” – to you, my beloved friend, “I will hold the Christ-light for you in the nighttime of your fear/ I will hold my hand out to you/say the words you long to hear.”