Leonardo Da Vinci's Benois Madonna |
This week's focus is on spiritual health.
Last week I drove south of Reno before sunrise. I found
a peaceful spot in a valley by a half-frozen stream with snow covered mountains
to both the east and west. I settled in to watch the sunrise. I’ve always loved
sunsets, but this was a new experience.
As I waited, I noticed how cold and dark it was. The dried out, dormant grass around me seemed
far removed from the verdant green of only a few months before. The once fertile
ground was now frozen, and the stream that would have been an inviting place to
swim was now cold, bleak, and even dangerous.
And then the sun began to rise. From the darkness there
first appeared a deep reddish hue above the snow-capped mountains. Slowly the
light began to pierce the darkness, and more of the mountains became visible.
And then the sun appeared, first as a barely perceptible glow and then just a
small sliver before it became fully visible over the eastern mountains. As the
sun rose and the temperature warmed, a beautiful low fog developed over the
boggy banks of the stream—the breath of dawn as a friend once called it.
This sunrise reminded me of what the birth of Jesus
represents. It is the power of God’s love to come into this world and pierce
even the darkest and coldest places in our lives, in our memories, and in our
world. Where there is ice, fallow land, and darkness, God’s love penetrates and
transforms.
And to me that is what Christmas is. It is the celebration
of the birth of Jesus, the celebration of eternal light piercing and overcoming darkness in all its forms.
Merry Christmas friends.
Moments of peace in nature are great teachers. Thank you for sharing this moment
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