Advent II: Seasons
“For everything there is a season…” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
Dear Friends,
I grew up on the Ohio prairie, where seasonal change is woven viscerally into the fabric of life. Two decades of moving from season to season formed me to live in this world according to the patterns of the sun, the moon, and, quite often, very dynamic weather.
Later, I spent more than 20 years in the southern half of Texas. My body reminded me several times each year of a persistent anticipation of seasonal patterns. Those patterns were out of sync with a region that really only has two seasons that blur back and forth together. During those years, my very being continued to remind me that time was passing, earth was shifting, and the air should have been changing temperatures a lot more than it ever did. Something was passing to make room for would soon arrive.
Back here in Oregon now (for a third Advent!), I again find myself aligned with the seasons (though never quite ready for the depth of darkness we get each winter!). The sweaters are out, and the rain boots; a few remaining leaves dangle on trees soon to be bare; and I’ll likely soon be scraping frost from my car’s windshield. Life itself is taking a breath and taking a break, but new light and warmth is promised to return.
In the Church, our liturgical movements track with those of the celestial bodies in relation to this world. The cycle of seasons emits a shaping influence on our souls. Over time, something becomes deeply embedded in who we are and in the rhythms by which we move through this life. Days and nights turn again and again, and a deep longing settles into our bones.
Advent nudges us to lean forward into promise. So we wait. Vesper light dims the world at earlier intervals, only to remind us that light will break through again. A stubborn chill draws us into a close huddle, stirring a longing for the warmth of God’s love.
We’ve done this before, though each turn is always, at once, the same and wholly new. Let’s wait expectantly, hopefully, courageously together.
With you,
Scott+
The Rev. R. Scott Painter, Rector
