The Still Point

A Time of Meditation and Reflection

The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ

 

... At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance...

 

T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

            Peace on each one who comes in need; 

            Peace on each one who comes in joy. 

            Peace on each one who offers prayers; 

            Peace on each one who offers song. 

            Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son, 

            Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.

Opening Prayer

Son of God, Child of Mary, born in the stable at Bethlehem, be born again in us this day that through us the world may know the wonder of your love. Hear this prayer for your name’s sake. Amen.

 

Scripture Reading           Luke 2: 8-20

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

 

Poem: “Star of the Nativity”                                              by Joseph Brodsky

In the cold season, in a locality accustomed to heat more than
to cold, to horizontality more than to a mountain,
a child was born in a cave in order to save the world;
it blew as only in deserts in winter it blows, athwart.

To Him, all things seemed enormous: His mother’s breast, the steam
out of the ox’s nostrils, Caspar, Balthazar, Melchior—the team
of Magi, their presents heaped by the door, ajar.
He was but a dot, and a dot was the star.

Keenly, without blinking, through pallid, stray
clouds, upon the child in the manger, from far away—
from the depth of the universe, from its opposite end—the star
was looking into the cave. And that was the Father’s stare.                                         

 

Meditation

On this Christmas Day, I'm mindful of a phrase from the Nicene Creed that is spoken weekly and even daily in liturgical churches all over the world: Light from Light. It's easy to pass over this phrase, as it sits nestled in between other parts of a kind of list of descriptions of the quality of the begotten God. One tends to put more emphasis on the "God from God" or "True God from True God" beginning and end of that set of descriptors.

 

But I think this phrase "Light from Light" is a little gold medallion hanging around the neck of those names of God, a little icon of the Incarnation, a little icon of the first chapter of John's Gospel that begins Christmastide. It is a phrase that describes what it means for us to be people of the Incarnation. 

 

Light drawn from light, light added to light, never diminishes the first light. It always magnifies it. For people of the ancient world, the magnification of light was essential for survival at night. Lamps were lit against the darkness of a night full of perils. Light added to light means peace, safety, assurance, thriving. So, it makes sense that light would be a natural way for our ancient ancestors to describe the nature and character of God.

 

God became incarnate in the person of Jesus, a person of flesh, blood and bone, a person whose body was formed by the same molecules and matter that formed the stars. God became Light, from Light. Jesus became Light, from Light. And by our very nature as we are made in the image and likeness of God, that same Light dwells in the center of our being. Every time we look into each other's eyes, that Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it.

 

Questions for Reflection

- How do you experience light in your life? Do you wake up when the light of the dawn comes into your room? Do you keep a light on in your house when you're not home, to welcome you when you return and keep your house safe while you're gone? Name some of the ways you relate to light, and take a moment to give thanks to God for all the ways light shows up in your life.

- What does light feel like? Does it feel warm and inviting? Does it feel too bright sometimes? What does it feel like to imagine light inside of you? What color is this light? Does it change from day to day?

- Can you think of a time when you noticed light in someone else? Maybe it was someone who simply brightened your day? What would it be like to magnify that light? How would you go about it?

Prayers

We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today 

We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer

We bring to God a troubled situation in our world 

We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust

We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection

We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives

We name before God those who have died.

 

Now to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, by the power which is at work among us, be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all ages. Amen.                      

Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.

 May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.

Reflections this month offered by: Kathleen Schmidt