Thought for the week - 2 February

Today is Candlemas, a pivotal point in the year. Traditionally it was when winter began to close up, supplies of food were maybe scarce, spring was still a few weeks away but the ground would begin to thaw sufficiently to be worked and thoughts of seeds and planting were in the minds of farmers. Old wisdom tells us that the weather on Candlemas predicts the season to come – Americans call it Groundhog Day. Whatever you call it, today is the day when the end of winter is enough of a possibility that we can begin to anticipate spring.

We are also at a pivotal point of the churches year, Christmas in every sense of the word is now over and we turn not simply from cradle to cross but from cradle through cross to the empty tomb, already visible, albeit dimly through the darkness still to come. Following Jesus is not just about Christmas; not just about Good Friday. Following Jesus is also about the hope and freedom of Easter.

Holding all of that together in one piece can be very difficult – but perhaps we don’t have to. Our liturgical year offers us seasons in which one or the other piece takes primacy in our worship. And our own lives offer us seasons in which one or the other takes primacy in our faith and in our experience. Sometimes, those match up with the liturgical year and sometimes they don’t – in which case our worship serves as a valuable reminder that what we are living is not the whole of God’s story.

I am in Alnwick, where it is cold and windy, but the East coast is often light and brighter than the West, particularly around this time of year, when the long views over the North Sea bring the reflection of the sun for longer than on our side. It reminds me of the coming of God to Abraham and Sarah, the long and unavoidable shadows coming to their camp, bringing God who brings change, challenges and a long journey of faith and the leaving behind of that which is comfortable and familiar.

Simeon’s song begins with a declaration of the end of his work, perhaps even his life: “Lord, now let your servant go in peace”. His task has been fulfilled; he has born witness to the arrival of the infant Messiah, seen the salvation of the world. That season is over, a new season has begun. His work is complete.

I wonder how Simeon felt when he woke up the day after meeting Jesus and seeing the truth of what his future would hold. I wonder if he woke up thinking, ‘today might be the day!”, before he remembered that yesterday had been the day and that he would have to find something else to do today, a way of using up the life left to him knowing that his purpose has been beautifully fulfilled – the promise of God came to him and now he has to look to meeting God, not in the form of the infant Jesus, but on the day of his judgement. Not many people will have beheld their judge as a baby!

What then did he do? I imagine he lit a candle, in the quiet of that winter morning, and prayed that the light of the world would break through the darkness and reveal to him the continuation of God’s promise. Let that be our prayer, also, as we journey through the seasons of the year and of our lives.

Have a blessed day, and if I come back, we can keep on moving forward together, and if I do not, well, we will move forward anyway, because that is the only direction that we can travel in, as St Augustine said ‘sing alleluia and keep on walking!’